Oscar Winner Predictions: Best Live-Action Short

The nominees:
The Confession (C)
A young boy searches for something bad to atone for when he’s told he has to go to confession.
The Crush (C+)
A student tries to win his teacher’s affection by challenging her fiancée to a duel.
God of Love (A-)
A lovestruck singer and dart thrower receives a mysterious gift of love-addled darts.
Na Wewe (C)
A bus is stopped by mercenaries near Rwanda and its passengers are interrogated about their ethnicities.
Wish 143 (B+)
A young man dying of cancer seeks to fulfill his last wish: to lose his virginity.

Previous winners: The New Tenants, Toyland, The Mozart of Pickpockets, West Bank Story, Six Shooter, Wasp
Who should win: “God of Love”
Who will win: Technically speaking, all five of these films could be considered comedies, though most of them do have some dramatic content as well. I think that both “The Confession” and “The Crush,” like “Miracle Fish” last year, put young children into dangerous situations, and that may alienate some viewers. The combination between deadly genocide and cautious comedy in “Na Wewe” doesn’t work so well, so I wouldn’t count on that film to pull off a win. “Wish 143” is true Oscar bait, and it’s a winning and moving film at that. I think the winner will be the underdog, the most entertaining and heartwarming of the five, the very funny “God of Love,” though it’s easily possible that any of these films could triumph.

Images are from Oscar.com