Watch Oscar Shorts 'Hair Love', 'Kitbull' and 'Sister'

Don’t let the shorts ruin your record with the Oscar nominations. Outsmart your Oscar pool by watching some of the nominated short films that are available on the web. Often overlooked, the shorts can bring some of the most exciting and innovative voices to the ceremony come Oscar night. Stream three Oscar shorts nominees before the big night.

Hair Love

Matthew A. Cherry’s nominee is about a father learning to do his daughter’s hair for the first time. It is one of the sweetest films you’ll see among the contenders. Cherry, a former NFL wide-receiver turned filmmaker, might sound like a dubious contender on paper after Kobe Bryant’s controversial Oscar win for Dear Basketball. But, no–he’s worthy. With a roster of music videos, TV, shorts, and feature credits as director, producer, etc., Cherry proved himself a formidable talent. His films shine a light on underrepresented stories. Sony Pictures Animation won the feature Oscar last year for animation with Into the Spider-Verse – will Hair Love give them a second win in a row?

Kitbull

Last year, one clown who Academy participated in The Hollywood Reporter‘s annual Oscar facepalm of Brutally Honest Oscar Voters said he wasn’t voting for Bao in the Best Animated Short category because he wouldn’t vote for Pixar. As a rule, he felt that shorts were training grounds for new talents. Therefore, big studios like Pixar shouldn’t be rewarded. (Despite offering said training ground to said up-and-comers…) It’s a stupid rule, but one can see his logic. Pixar and/or Disney dominate this category. I can’t really comment since Meryl Streep would have won 18 Oscars if I had a ballot. Kitbull is to Pixar what The Post is to Meryl Streep. The nomination won’t do much for its career, but they come by it honestly. Besides, after the beating that Cats took, Rosana Sullivan’s Kitbull could bring some much-needed feline representation to the party.

Sister

Speaking of Meryl Streep, Siqi Song’s shelf has Meryl-level awards on it after Sister‘s run on the circuit. After winning the top prizes at multiple Oscar-qualifying festivals (including Canada’s SPARK Animation, Aspen Shortsfest, and the Austin Film Festival), not to mention playing at some of the world’s top festival including Sundance and the Ottawa International Animation Festival, Sister landed as a Vimeo Staff Pick and a Short of the Week. That combination of arthouse street cred and popular appeal makes for a win. This brilliantly told feat of hand-crafted artisanal animation offers a poignant story. Next to studio films like Sony and Pixar, Sister might be the ideal alternative for Brutally Honest Oscar Voters.