Short fiction films Frost by Marianne Farley and The big slaps Annie St-Pierre made their entry into the Oscar race Tuesday afternoon by being pre-selected in the short list of their category.
In addition, four Canadian animated short films, three of which were co-produced by the National Film Board, 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 these. The announcement of the finalists in all categories of the Oscar gala will also be made on February 8, 2022.
Since its release at Sundance in January 2021, The big slaps Annie St-Pierre keeps filling 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 a second of her short films (after Daisy, Oscar finalist in 2019) reach the short list. “We wondered whether the topic of abortion was going to help us or hurt us, because it’s very polarized in the United States,” she said. At the end of the day, we’re very happy, ”she said.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY H264
A scene from Frost by Marianne Farley in which we find the actresses Chantal Baril and Karine Gonthier-Hyndman.
The refers us to the producers Charlotte Beaudoin-Poisson and Sophie Ricard-Harvey (Ô Films) with whom the filmmaker and actress 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 extraordinary to place one among this list of 15 films, but having two touches me enormously. I collapse ! ”
Recall that in 2019, h264 brought the films Wildcat by Jérémy Comte and Daisy by Marianne Farley as Oscar finalists.
“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 work 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 is the critical mass of voters at the Oscars! ?
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
A scene from the animated short Weeds.
In a telephone interview, Mr. Cloutier told us: “It’s a good year for me and for the NFB. 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 rests between 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
A scene from Art in the blood.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE NFB
A scene from the animated film Like a river.
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 Makeup and hairstyles, best soundtrack, best sound and 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, from Denmark, I’m Your Man, from Germany, and Drive my Car, from Japan. But we especially notice the absence of Titanium, representative of France and Palme d’Or at the last Cannes Film Festival.
The 94e edition of the Oscars gala will take place on Sunday, March 27 at the Dolby Theater in West Hollywood. The evening will be broadcast on ABC.