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

Los Angeles, CA (August 19, 2025). Fresh off its BAFTA win for Best British Short Film Rock, Paper, Scissors is charging into Hollywood. The gripping war thriller is under the direction of Franz Böhm. It is a production of Hayder Rothschild Hoozeer and starring Ukrainian actor Oleksandr Rudynskyi. The film is an officially selection for the 2025 HollyShorts Film Festival. An Academy Award–qualifying event hosted at the legendary TCL Chinese Theatres from August 7–17.

The film depicts the Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. Rock, Paper, Scissors delivers an unflinching portrayal of survival, sacrifice and the human cost of conflict. The film is based on a true story and crafted in close collaboration with Ukrainian communities. It 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 is a BAFTA Kirsh Scholar. Also a Toledo Scholar and alum of the National Film and Television School. He has firsthand experience from time spent on the ground in Ukraine during active bombardment. He also has personal ties to those displaced by the war. His production company is Who’s Here? Productions. It champions films that entertain with emotional depth, and cinematic scale. It also offers the kind of wonder that reminds us why cinema matters. Each story design is to resonate, to endure, and to shape how we see the world and each other.

The Official Trailer for Rock, Paper, Scissors Directed by Franz Böhm

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.”

The short film is 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 the 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. 

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