Watch Academy Award-winning short films right now

The 85th Academy Awards kick off one week from tonight. We'll have plenty of lists of past winners and nominees in the coming weeks, but for now, let's direct attention to the lesser-heralded short film catagories.

Since 1932, the Academy has honored short films in a number of categories, including documentaries and animation. Though they have never received the same critical acclaim as Best Picture hopefuls, Short Film and Short Subject nominees are as creative and worthwhile as they are comparatively brief.

Pop culture aggregator Flavorwire recently compiled a short list of Oscar-winning short films that are available for free to watch online. If you have half an hour to spare, sit down and watch a few of them to get an idea of what some of the less-heralded Oscar categories hold in store.