BAFTA-Winning Rock, Paper, Scissors Storms into Oscar-Qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival

Fresh off its BAFTA win for Best British Short Film, Rock, Paper, Scissors is charging into Hollywood. The gripping war thriller, directed by Franz Böhm, produced by Hayder Rothschild Hoozeer, and starring Ukrainian actor Oleksandr Rudynskyi, has been officially selected for the prestigious 2025 HollyShorts Film Festival — an Academy Award–qualifying event hosted at the legendary TCL Chinese Theatres from August 7–17.

Set against the backdrop of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, Rock, Paper, Scissors delivers an unflinching portrayal of survival, sacrifice, and the human cost of conflict. Based on a true story and crafted in close collaboration with Ukrainian communities, the film centers on a father and son running a makeshift frontline hospital, until their world is violently upended by the arrival of Russian troops. Tense, immersive and deeply human, this 21-minute film holds you in its grip until the final frame. At its heart lies a single, harrowing truth: in war, the ones we call heroes are often just those who refused to do nothing.

Producer Hayder Rothschild Hoozeer, a BAFTA Kirsh Scholar, Toledo Scholar, and alum of the National Film and Television School, has firsthand experience from time spent on the ground in Ukraine during active bombardment, with personal ties to those displaced by the war. His production company, WHO’S HERE? PRODUCTIONS, champions films that entertain with emotional depth, cinematic scale, and the kind of wonder that reminds us why cinema matters. Each story is designed to resonate, to endure, and to shape how we see the world and each other.

Rock, Paper, Scissors engages with the war in Ukraine as it continues to unfold. Its urgency reflects the daily reality of Ukrainian civilians — the quiet bravery it takes to endure, adapt, and survive. The film exists within a living conflict, capturing a people who continue to resist with unwavering resolve.

“This is more than a film,” says Böhm. “It’s a tribute to real people living through hell—and fighting for hope.”

Shot with raw handheld realism by cinematographer Sunshine Hsien Yu Niu, using rehoused vintage lenses provided by Greig Fraser ASC ACS, the film channels the visceral intensity of Son of Saul and All Quiet on the Western Front. No gloss. No compromise. Just truth.

Selected from thousands of global entries, Rock, Paper, Scissors will screen as part of HollyShorts’ elite British Shorts program — a showcase reserved for the most distinctive new voices in UK cinema. Following its BAFTA win, the selection marks another milestone in the film’s international rise, placing it firmly in the global spotlight as it continues its path toward the Oscars.