The Academy likes to celebrate issue-based projects in its short categories, though this year's best is an apolitical take on artificial intelligence.

I’m Not a Robot” from writer-director Victoria Warmerdam is a 22-minute Dutch-language film about a music producer who wonders if she might not be human when she keeps failing online Captcha tests meant to prove that users filling out online forms are real people and not spambots.

Shot in an anxiety-inducing series of cuts, camera angles, and disembodied voices, the directors hammer home that often-heard phrase “the cruelty is the point.” I found myself seething at the screen as the credits rolled, and I’m sure enough Academy voters will draw a parallel between “A Lien” and current events to give this film the Oscar. (★★★★)