To be frank, I felt much more confident about last year's picks. But I think that'll make this year more fun. Once again, we start with some categories that, no matter what the year, I'm pretty much making it up as I go.

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)

• The Danish Poet
• Lifted
• The Little Matchgirl
• Maestro
• No Time for Nuts

Will Win: The Little Matchgirl
Should Win: Lifted

Though this category is completely random, I've noticed a slightly moody trend of late, and the closest one to that is The Little Matchgirl, with its subdued hues and quiet, pretty, sad (and kind of dull) story.

The only one of these I haven't seen (at least in part) is Lifted, but I'm still voting for it. Why? Because it's Pixar, and the least entertaining Pixar short is still better than these (admittedly well done) films.

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)

• Binta and the Great Idea
• Eramos Pocos
• Helmer & Son
• The Saviour
• West Bank Story

Will Win: West Bank Story
Should Win: West Bank Story

As usual, I have no freakin' clue how the Academy makes their decisions here. I just think that if I got a ballot and hadn't seen any of these films, I'd vote for the one with the coolest title.

Having seen at least the trailer for this flick (and bits and pieces of the others — thank you, YouTube/iFilm) I can tell you that the premise is just as enticing as the title. From the synopsis, "A musical comedy set in the fast-paced, fast-food world of competing falafel stands on the West Bank." I'm sold.

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

• The Blood of Yingzhou District
• Recycled Life
• Rehearsing a Dream
• Two Hands

Will Win: Two Hands
Should Win: The Blood of Yingzhou District

Normally, I'd say go for the most heartwrenching, serious flick on the list, but the Academy confounded me last year by picking what appeared to be the least disturbing of the bunch. So, this year, I'm going with the personal triumph story, propped up by the fact that it's co-directed by Nathaniel Kahn, a feature doc nominee in 2003 for My Architect.

If you've seen my top ten, you know I was all about the heartwrenching tragedy in '06, plus I don't think at this point you can really have too many films about AIDS as a global crisis, so a doc about kids in China being shunned for having the disease pretty much fits the bill.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

• Deliver Us From Evil
• An Inconvenient Truth
• Iraq in Fragments
• Jesus Camp
• My Country, My Country

Will Win: An Inconvenient Truth
Should Win: Jesus Camp

Article Author: David Dylan Thomas

David Dylan Thomas is a Philly-based writer/filmmaker who opines voraciously about dem pictures what move on the screen at DavidDylanThomas.com.

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