The short film “The Girl Who Cried Pearls,” directed by Montrealers Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, won the Oscar for best animated short film at the awards ceremony on Sunday.
Canadian talent shone brightly at the 98th Academy Awards ceremony , held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, as Toronto’s Maggie Kang also won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film for the hit movie “KPop Demon Hunters”.
“The Girl Who Cried Pearls,” a stop-motion animated short film produced by the National Film Board (NFB), has been screened at more than 40 festivals and has already received several awards.
Set in early 20th-century Montreal, the short film tells the story of a poor boy who falls in love with a mysterious young girl who cries pearls at night.
For filmmakers, this Oscar represents much more than their own project.
“We see this as the culmination of several decades of public policy,” said Szczerbowski in a telephone interview, praising the support provided to the arts by the Canadian cultural funding system.
He thanked the public film producer for “allowing eccentrics like us, who, at over 50 years old, still play with dolls, to create things that truly inspire the world.”
“A billion people have just heard about our country,” he added.
The animation duo had already been nominated in the category of best animated short film at the Oscars in 2007, for “Madame Tutli-Putli”.
“K-pop warriors” shine
It was a great night for animation, with the Oscar going to Canadian-Korean director Maggie Kang for “K-pop Warriors,” a film she wrote and co-directed with Chris Appelhans.
This fantasy musical film, which tells the story of a K-pop (Korean pop) demon-hunting group, is the most-watched film in Netflix history.
Upon accepting her award, an emotional Kang dedicated her victory “to all Koreans,” lamenting that it had taken so long “for those of you who look like me” to be represented in a successful film like this one.
“But it’s done. And that means future generations won’t have to dream about it,” she said, fighting back tears.
The song from the film “Golden,” performed by Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami (who portray the fictional K-pop group Huntrix), became the first K-pop song to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
The creators of “Frankenstein” were rewarded.
The Canadian craftsmen of Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” also had reason to rejoice on Sunday.
Production designer Tamara Deverell and set designer Shane Vieau won the Oscar for best production design, while Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey were part of the team awarded for best makeup and best hairstyling.
Behind the scenes, Lavis recounted that the event had turned into a veritable impromptu celebration of Canadian cinema.
“Behind the scenes, it was us, Maggie Kang and the whole “Frankenstein” team — a veritable guard of honour of Canadians who were reuniting, hugging, taking pictures and celebrating this landmark moment in Canadian cinema.”
This victory was particularly significant for Messrs. Lavis and Szczerbowski, as their families were present to witness it.
Lavis also took the opportunity to address a broader issue affecting the Canadian arts community.
He pointed to the rise of streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon, which he said are profiting from the Canadian public but “do not contribute enough” to funding culture in the country.
The Online Streaming Act, which is not yet fully implemented, requires foreign streaming platforms to contribute to the financing of Canadian film and television production.
Several platforms, including Amazon and Apple, are challenging the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s decision that would require foreign platforms generating more than $25 million annually in Canada to contribute 5 per cent of their local revenue to Canadian programming.
“We cannot compete with these giants without funding cultural production. It’s impossible,” said Lavis.
“This includes making Amazon, Netflix, and all those companies that benefit from preferential treatment in this country pay taxes. I believe it’s important that they contribute not only through films, but also to the Canada Media Fund and other Canadian funds. This is absolutely essential to our survival.”
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
