Many immigrants who come to the US live a life feeling isolated in a foreign land and in fear of being caught.

But that's a story paralleled around the world.

"Parvaneh" is among the Oscar nominees for best live action short film. It's about a young woman named Parvaneh, an Afghan immigrant to Switzerland.

PARVANEH - Trailer from hiddenframe on Vimeo.

It becomes clear early on that she's in that country illegally. She's working odd jobs and barely scraping by.

Then she finds out her father back home is ill. To help pay for the doctor, she takes her meager stash of savings so she can wire it via Western Union.

That's when she travels to Zurich -- overwhelmed by the city -- to find help. 

"Parvaneh" is actually a student film by Iranian-Swiss filmmaker Talkhon Hamzavi. She tells A Martinez that she just aimed to get the movie finished -- she never expected it to be honored like this.