Short fiction films Frost, by Marianne Farley, and The big slaps, Annie St-Pierre, entered the Oscar race Tuesday afternoon by being shortlisted in their category.
In addition, four Canadian animated short films, including three co-produced by the National Film Board (NFB), are also in the short list of their category.
Art in the blood, by Joanna Quinn and Les Mills, Like a river, by Sandra Desmazières, and Weeds, by Claude Cloutier, are the works co-produced by the NFB. These three films are available to the public on the NFB’s YouTube channel.
Finally, the Inuit-born filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk, with his film Angakusajaujuq – The Shaman’s Apprentice, is also in contention in the category of best animated short films.
The short lists relate to certain Oscar categories and are equivalent to the semi-finalists. There are normally 15 candidates in each of them. The finalists in all categories of the Oscar gala will also be announced on February 8.
Since its release at Sundance last January, The big slaps, by Annie St-Pierre, continues to fill up with prizes. The film is defined as follows: “December 24, 1983, 10:50 pm; Julie (Lilou Roy-Lanouette) and her cousins have eaten too much sweet, Santa Claus is late and Denis (Steve Laplante), alone in his car, is afraid of setting foot in his ex-house again. in-laws to come and pick up their children. The big slaps brings together father and daughter. ”
Frost, by Marianne Farley, is a hard-hitting abortion film. Camped in the near future, he tells the story of a woman (Karine Gonthier-Hyndman) who has an abortion without her husband’s knowledge in horrifying conditions. The staging is frontal and plunges the viewer into an underground that is both indescribable and anxious.
Joined by Press, Marianne Farley first said she was blessed to see one of her short films for the second time (after Daisy, Oscar finalist in 2019) reach the short list. “We wondered if the subject of abortion was going to help us or harm us, because it is very divided in the United States,” she says. At the end of the day, we are very happy, ”she said.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY H264
Scene from Frost, by Marianne Farley, in which we find the actresses Chantal Baril and Karine Gonthier-Hyndman
The filmmaker and actress quotes producers Charlotte Beaudoin-Poisson and Sophie Ricard-Harvey (Ô Films), with whom she works closely.
Frost and The big slaps are distributed by h264, an aggregation and distribution organization. Joined by Press, the big boss of the box, Jean-Christophe J. Lamontagne, was overjoyed to see two of his films being selected in this way. “I am speechless,” he says. It’s already amazing to place one among this list of 15 films, but having two touches me enormously. I collapse ! ”
Recall that in 2019, h264 had seen its short films Wildcat, by Jérémy Comte, and Daisy, by Marianne Farley, make it one of the finalists at the Oscars night.
“This year, bringing two more of our short films to the short list is the result of the work of the entire h264 team, which has nine people, ”adds Mr. Lamontagne, catching his breath. “But the job is not done. We have a whole promotional campaign to start to see our films in the United States. ”
Should we remember that it is south of the border that the critical mass of Oscar voters is located?
Three NFB films
At the NFB, the animated film Weeds leads its director, Claude Cloutier, to the short list for the second time in his career. The synopsis of the film reads as follows: “ Weeds takes us into a surprising world populated by carnivorous plants that change in appearance like a chameleon passing from one color to another. The director combines growth with competition, evolution with competition, and sets up an astonishing duel that resembles a western, cold war and board game. ”
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE NFB
Scene from the animated short Weeds, by Claude Cloutier
“It’s a good year for me and for the NFB,” Mr. Cloutier told us in a telephone interview. The fact that we’re on the short list with three films, including two produced by Julie Roy, is exceptional. My film is set in an extremely simplified setting, and everything is based on the interaction of two characters. I think people liked its playfulness. ”
The film Art in the blood “Examines the eccentric, but endearing obsessions of a family for drawing, threads, stuffing pets and various other odds and ends,” says one on the site of the ONF. Like a river is also the story of two sisters separated by the Vietnam War and whose only link is an exchange of letters.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE NFB
Scene from the animated short Art in the blood, by Joanna Quinn and Les Mills
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE NFB
Scene from the animated short Like a river, by Sandra Desmazières
Short lists were also published in certain technical categories of the major films of the year. We notice that Dune, by Denis Villeneuve, is included in the short lists of the best makeup and hairstyles, the best soundtrack, the best sound and the best visual effects.
In addition, the race for the Quebec feature film Drunken birds, Ivan Grbovic, stopped on Tuesday. His film was not included in the short list of the 15 feature films still in the running for the Oscar for best international film.
In this category, we notice the presence of Flee, Denmark,I’m your man, Germany, and Drive my Car, from Japan. But we especially notice the absence of Titanium, representative of France and Palme d’Or this year at the Cannes Film Festival.
The 94e edition of the Oscars gala will take place on Sunday, March 27 at the Dolby Theater, West Hollywood. The evening will be broadcast on the ABC channel.