6 Canadian shorts shortlisted for the Oscars

This is not the first time that director Marianne Farley has found herself in the race for the Oscars. His film Daisy was nominated in the same category in 2019. Despite this, she does not yet realize what is happening to her.

There is nothing that prepares you for this and you have no control. All you can do is do the maximum. […] Afterwards, it is the members of the Academy who decide. I think I’m more detached [que la dernière fois], but that doesn’t mean I’m not pissed off, reacted Marianne Farley, Tuesday evening, at the microphone of the cultural columnist of All morning, Claudia Hébert.

Marianne Farley is also very happy to see another Quebec film, The big slaps, by Annie St-Pierre, be in the running in the same category.

This was also the case in 2019, with the Quebec short film Wildcat, by Jeremy Comte. I did not feel alone the first time, because there was the team of Wildcat. It’s fun to live it side by side. We could share our experience and help each other, and I hope that with Annie [St-Pierre], we will go that faradds Marianne Farley.

Abortion, a hot topic in the United States

Frost had its world premiere last June at the Regard Festival. Set in a Quebec where abortion has been re-criminalized, the film tells the story of Kara, a woman who uses an illegal mobile abortion clinic.

Marianne Farley admits that this is not an easy subject. She does not know if the fact that abortion rights are a hot topic in the United States, when the Supreme Court could use the review of a Mississippi law to roll back the cause by nearly 50 years old is an asset.

We don’t know if it helps or hurts the film, but for us, it’s a subject that is close to our hearts. With what is happening in the United States, we must talk about it and not be afraid to expose this situation in relation to women’s rights, and what these anti-abortion laws involve and their impact on the lives of women., thinks Marianne Farley.

A pre-selected Christmas film

World premiere at the end of January at the Sundance Festival, The big slaps features a little girl (Lilou Roy-Lanouette) whose parents are divorced and who is with her father (Steve Laplante) on Christmas Eve in 1983.

The film won two awards at the South by Southwest Festival (SXSW): a Special Jury Mention for Best Director in the Short Fiction category and a Special Jury Mention for the Mailchimp Support the Shorts Award.

Its Oscar preselection is well received by its director. It’s an explosion of internal joy, emphasizes Annie St-Pierre. With the awards she received, she confesses that she was starting to have hopes of being shortlisted among the 186 films that were eligible.

Now we have the right to believe it. […] It’s a Christmas present and I hope the film continues to be seen and that it will be a present for all those who are confined to their homes this Christmas., underlines the director.

Director Annie St-Pierre

Photo: James Andrew Rosen

Annie St-Pierre says that the shooting of the film was the last real Christmas she lived. The Christmas portrayed in the movie might not be the happiest in the world, but the Christmas theme is a pretext for talking about family, because for me it goes together. And in the last two years, this bond has suffered a lot and we can’t wait to get together to celebrate with the people close to us., adds Annie St-Pierre.

Other short films stand out

In addition, three NFB co-productions are also shortlisted in the category of best animated short film. These are the films Affairs of the Art (Art in the blood), by Joanna Quinn and Les Mills, Weeds, by Claude Cloutier, and Like a river by Sandra Desmazières.

The film by Inuit-born filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk, Angakusajaujuq: The Shaman’s Apprentice, is also in preselection in the animation category.

For its part, the film Drunken birds, which represented Canada in the Oscar race for best international film, was not selected.

The Oscar finalists for the different categories will be announced on February 8, 2022. The 94th Academy Awards will be held in Los Angeles on March 27, 2022.