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The Academy Award for Live Action Short Film (and its animated and documentary counterparts) tend to be one of those categories during the ceremony that everyone treats as a break –for the bathroom, to grab more snacks, to catch up on the live-tweeting, etc. The majority of those watching at home (and a fair share of those in the audience, too) haven't even seen any of the nominees, and probably won't get a chance to see them in the future, either. Only Oscar die-hards bother to hunt down viewings for the nominated short films.
But every so often, the category features someone of note – either at the time, or a nominee who will go on to make a name for him or herself later on. Jury's out on this year's nominees, but here are seven notable Short Film Oscar winners in the category's history that show even the minor categories can have the big names.
Peter Capaldi, Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life (1994)
The man playing the latest reincarnation of The Doctor is, yes, an Academy Award winner. Capaldi won the Oscar for directing the absurdist short film depicting Franz Kafka as he writes The Metamorphosis. Capaldi isn't as well known in the U.S. as he is in Britain, but he is surely among the most famous Short Film winners.