Experience all five of this year’s Academy Award nominees for Best Animated Short Film, including Pixar’s Bao, the delightful and moving story about a mother’s love for her dumpling—and her son—plus two bonus shorts. 

Recommended for ages 9+ (Some of the films explore themes such as Alzheimer’s Disease, divorce, and the death of a parent, and there is some imagery in Weekends that children under 8 may find scary.) 

Bao 
Dir. Domee Shi. USA, 2018, 8 mins. Winner, Best Animated Short. An aging Chinese mother suffering from empty nest syndrome gets another chance at motherhood when one of her dumplings springs to life as a lively, giggly dumpling boy. 

Late Afternoon 
Dir. Louise Bagnall. Ireland, 2018, 10 mins. Emily is an elderly woman who lives between two states, the past and the present. She journeys into an inner world, reliving moments from her life. She searches for a connection within her vivid, but fragmented memories. 

Animal Behaviour 
Dirs. Alison Snowden, David Fine. Canada, 2018, 14 mins. Dealing with what comes naturally is not easy, especially for animals. In the latest animated short from the Oscar-winning team of Alison Snowden and David Fine (Bob’s Birthday), five animals meet regularly to discuss their inner angst in a group therapy session led by Dr. Clement, a canine psychotherapist. 

Weekends 
Dir. Trevor Jimenez. USA, 2018, 16 mins. Weekends is the story of a young boy shuffling between the homes of his recently divorced parents. Surreal dream-like moments mix with the domestic realities of a broken up family in this hand-animated film set in 1980s Toronto. 

One Small Step 
Dirs. Andrew Chesworth, Bobby Pontillas. USA/China, 2018, 8 mins. Luna is a vibrant young Chinese-American girl who dreams of becoming an astronaut. From the day she witnesses a rocket launching into space on TV, Luna is driven to reach for the stars. 

Plus, two additional animated shorts: Wishing Box (Dirs. Wenli Zhang, Nan Li. USA, 6 mins.) and Tweet Tweet (Dir. Zhanna Bekmambetova, Russia, 11 mins.)