Iranian-French animation ‘The Musician’ makes 2022 Oscar shortlist

Iranian-French short animation ‘The Musician’ (Le Musicien) by Reza Riahi has been announced qualified in the animated short category of the 2022 US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (OSCARS).

The 94th Academy Awards has announced the shortlisted films in several categories of the upcoming Oscars, including Animated Short Film which was comprised of eighty-four films qualified for this category.

Members of the short films and feature animation branch voted the list down to fifteen films - ‘The Musician’ included, and will now select five nominees.

Notably, this is the first year that the shortlist has fifteen films on it. In previous years, the list was capped at ten. This expanded list draws more attention to deserving films and makes the category significantly more competitive during the second voting round.

Riahi’s awards-contending ‘The Musician’ (Navozande) is a 15-minute stop-motion short made of paper cut-outs.

It centers on two young lovers in ancient Persia who are tragically fallen apart during a vicious attack on their land, only to meet again by chance in their old age.

Riahi, who grew up in Iran and now lives in France, is the writer and director of several award-winning animated shorts, including ‘Entre Chien et Loup’ (Between Dogs and Wolves), which screened at numerous festivals around the world.

He also previously served as the artistic director for Nora Twomey’s Oscar-nominated film ‘The Breadwinner, earning the European Animation Awards’ prize for Best Feature Film Character and Background Design for his work on that title back in 2018.

The attention surrounding ‘The Musician’ has led to a multitude of awards and festivals appearances already on this circuit, notably winning the best short animation award at the 20th Tribeca Film Festival in the US.

Nomination voting for the Oscars 2022 begins on January 27, 2022, and concludes on February 1. Nominations for the 94th Academy Awards will be announced on February 8.

The Oscars ceremony will follow on March 27 at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland in Hollywood.

Also read:

Oscars 2022 shortlists Iran’s ‘A Hero’ for best int’l feature

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