The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science has whittled the contenders for the Best Live-Action Short Film Oscar category from 120 to 10.  Noticeably absent from the list is Jonas Cuaron’s Aningaaq, which is a 7-minute companion piece to Gravity.  Warner Bros. decided to submit Aningaaq for Oscar consideration after it received positive reviews at festival screenings, but apparently the Academy wasn’t as keen on the picture.  Members of the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch will now view the 10 finalists, with the final list of five nominees set to be announced along with the other Oscar nominees on January 16, 2014.  Read the full list of the shortlisted films after the jump.

kush

Here’s the full press release:

BEVERLY HILLS, CA —The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 10 live action short films will advance in the voting process for the 86th Academy Awards®. One hundred twenty pictures had originally qualified in the category. The 10 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production companies:

“Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me),” Esteban Crespo, director (Producciones Africanauan)

“Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just before Losing Everything),” Xavier Legrand, director, and Alexandre Gavras, producer (KG Productions)

“Dva (Two),” Mickey Nedimovic, director, and Henner Besuch, director of photography (Filoufilm Dani Barsch)

“Helium,” Anders Walter, director, and Kim Magnusson, producer (M & M Productions)

“Kush,” Shubhashish Bhutiani, director (Red Carpet Moving Pictures)

“Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?),” Selma Vilhunen, director, and Kirsikka Saari, screenwriter (Tuffi Films)

“Record/Play,” Jesse Atlas, director, and Thom Fennessey, executive producer (Collaboration Factory)

“Throat Song,” Miranda de Pencier, director (Northwood Productions)

“Tiger Boy,” Gabriele Mainetti, director (Goon Films)

“The Voorman Problem,” Mark Gill, director, and Baldwin Li, producer (Honlodge Productions)

The Short Films and Feature Animation Branch Reviewing Committee viewed all the eligible entries for the preliminary round of voting at screenings held in Los Angeles. Short Films and Feature Animation Branch members will now select three to five nominees from among the 10 titles on the shortlist. Branch screenings will be held in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco in December. The 86th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 16, 2014, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.