This year’s crop of live action shorts is, in my opinion, one of the weaker fields in recent memory. There isn’t anything that stands out and announces its storytelling or cinema prowess, though the usual caveat with shorts — gimmicks in the plot — are mercifully scarce this time around.
Generally films that showcase top notch filmmaking techniques, mini-features with noticeably rich production values, have a leg up here. There are exceptions, of course, and many times that built-in bias tends to shun more profound stories that might be assembled with lesser means, but nevertheless, there’s a decent mixture of budgets, genres and talent this time around.
The nominees are:
“The Door” (Juanita Wilson and James Flynn)
“Instead of Abracadabra” (Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström)
“Kavi” (Gregg Helvey)
“Miracle Fish” (Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey)
“The New Tenants” (Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson)
These appeared at Movie City News’s 
The Academy