Live Action Shorts - 1 nomination each

Ennemis Interieurs
This is a timely and powerful story of a French born Algerian who has lived his entire life in France applying for citizenship there.  He is a Muslim who has a criminal record due to having been falsely accused and convicted for burglary.  His intense conversation/interrogation brings to light what people with good intentions who live in fear can do to others when making assumptions.  No matter what side of the political spectrum with which you align, this film illuminates what injustice looks like in the name of security.  Both sides make vital points in the conversation, with one side most clearly the loser, the side of human decency.

La Femme et le TGV
A lonely woman waves twice a day at the train holding her Swiss flag and bearing a broad smile.  For the rest of the day, she is a lonely bakery proprietor.  One day, she receives a note from a man who passes her as a passenger on the train and they strike up an unlikely friendship.  There are some holes in the story, but it reminds us how feeling valued can change our own inner monologue, thereby changing our lives.

Silent Nights
An unlikely romance between new immigrant and volunteer worker is the center of this tale.  We see the trials faced by a black man in Denmark, and the challenges that he must overcome to succeed there. For the moment, his life isn't going very well.  But he bears a secret and acts impulsively, making the relationship doomed from the start.

Sing
In this sweet film, a child joins a new school where they have a choir who are national champions. The rule in the school is that anyone can join irrespective of talent or ability.  But when the new girl is pulled aside by her teacher who tells her that she can only mouth the words, her new best friend protests.  She realizes how many kids in the choir have been asked to remain silent and this strikes her as deeply unfair.  The two girls hatch a scheme in a story that prizes each individual contribution over national recognition.

Timecode
This highly original film follows two security guards - one who works the night shift and the other who works the day shift.  When the woman on the day shift has to review some taped footage from the security cameras, she finds to her delight that her fellow guard has found a unique way to patrol the garage, and she follows in kind.  Without ruining the adorable surprise, they find a special communication to each other that is beautiful and meaningful.  This was a truly one of a kind movie that I could watch again and again.