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One of my favorite parts of Oscar season is the treat of watching the short films nominated for an Academy Award.

Thank you, Film Streams.

This is the fifth year Omaha's nonprofit arthouse theater has screened them. They have become a popular moneymaker and will be shown Friday through March 1.

They're brilliant every year, but I have to say I especially enjoyed this year's crop.

The short films, particularly in the live-action and documentary categories, have gone to some pretty dark places in recent years.

Last year's live-action shorts, for example, ensnared an innocent altar boy in a horrible situation that caused the death of his friend — and no doubt a lifelong case of unresolved guilt.

Another was about ethnic cleansing of Hutu and Tutsi tribal factions in 1994 Africa. A third was about a schoolboy with a crush on his teacher. He finds he has an older rival and confronts him with a pistol.

Heavy subjects are perfectly appropriate, of course. This year's documentary-short nominees include a black man recalling the civil rights movement ("The Barber of Birmingham"), an Iraq war veteran struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder ("Incident in New Baghdad"), a plastic surgeon helping Pakistani women attacked with acid ("Saving Face"), and how cherry trees in bloom bring hope in the aftermath of the Japanese tsunami ("The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom").

Those sound like very worthy subjects.

So was last year's live-action altar boy film, but it left a black cloud somewhere in the upper regions of my chest that hung around a while.

Well, this year's live-action shorts again include an altar-boy story. But the outcome isn't quite so bleak. A quick rundown of the live-action shorts:

"Pentecost," Ireland, 11 minutes. Parallels are drawn between a team of altar boys and a sports franchise, complete with a locker room (I mean sacristy) pep talk before the archbishop's all-important appearance. A young rebel on the team, charged with the crucial spot of wielding the incense burner, must decide between conforming and an awful punishment: a ban on watching his beloved soccer playoffs. Wait and see what the Holy Spirit will inspire.

"Raju," Germany/India, 24 minutes. A German couple adopts an adorable 4 year old in India, but the boy suddenly disappears. Digging into his disappearance reveals a bigger problem and a moral dilemma.

"The Shore," Northern Ireland, 30 minutes. Two boyhood friends parted on bad terms amid "the troubles" and a romance. Now, 25 years later, one returns from America with his daughter. Hearing the story, she insists dad visit his old friend. Ciaran Hinds stars as the visitor from America. Wonderful character bits.

"Time Freak," United States, 11 minutes. A young man's invention of a time machine aggravates his neurosis about how he interacts with people in everyday life. When he gets busted by his roommate, there's a price to be paid. Shades of "Groundhog Day."

"Tuba Atlantic," Norway, 25 minutes. Only six days to live? Crusty old Oskar has but one wish: to reconnect with his brother in New Jersey. A young hospice volunteer, an obsession with seagulls and an old invention combine for a hilarious outcome.

Just as good: the animated shorts, plus a couple of non-nominees. I only got to preview the Oscar contenders:

"Dimanche," Canada, 9 minutes. From a young boy's point of view, a routine Sunday becomes an exotic adventure involving fast-moving trains, wandering minds in church, a grandmother's gruesome preparation of dinner and a sad fate for several animals. Simple line drawings.

"The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore," United States, 17 minutes. There's immortality in books. This fanciful, beautifully drawn fable feels inspired by Hurricane Katrina, "The Wizard of Oz" and a true love of books. A personal favorite.

"La Luna," United States, 7 minutes. When his father and grandfather take him along for the first time to their unusual job on a rowboat, a boy gets a magical discovery about the moon. Pixar scores again.

"A Morning Stroll," British, 7 minutes. A black-and-white segment set in 1959 (really cool line drawings!), brilliant color in 2009 and a garish finale from 2059 each have their own personality, plus certain parallels involving a sidewalk stroller and a chicken.

"Wild Life," Canada, 14 minutes. An Englishman with romantic notions of cowboys moves to the Canadian frontier in 1909. His letters home differ widely from the harsh realities of the life he finds there.

Film Streams will again have patrons vote on which short should win in each category. More often than not, the Oscar winner has matched Film Streams' top vote getter.