“My Life as a Zucchini” and two Swiss short films shortlisted for an Oscar
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced that Switzerland’s official entry “My Life as a Zucchini” (“Ma vie de Courgette”) has made the shortlist of the 89th Academy Awards in the Foreign Language Film category.
15.12.2016
The members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will select five nominations from the nine films on the shortlist. 85 countries submitted a film in the Foreign Language Film category; 27 features were submitted for Best Animated Feature Film. This is the first time that a Swiss animation film is in the running for an Oscar.
As already announced, two Swiss short films are among the ten on the short list for Live Action Short Films: “Bon Voyage” (Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduction, Zurich) by Marc Raymond Wilkins and “La femme et le TGV” (arbel gmbh) by Timo von Gunten. The film “I Am Not Your Negro” by Raoul Peck, coproduced by Close Up Films in Geneva, is among the 15 films on the shortlist for Documentary Features.
On December 10, “My Life as a Zucchini” was honoured with the European Film Award for Best European Animation Film and earlier this week the Swiss-French coproduction (Rita Productions, Geneva) received a nomination for the Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture – Animated. “My Life as a Zucchini” will celebrate its US premiere at the Sundance Film Festival (January 19-29). The film will be released in US cinemas in February, and in Canada in March. The distributor in North America is GKIDS, which specialises in international animation films. “My Life as a Zucchini” is Switzerland’s most successful animation film and already now one of its biggest cinema exports.
The Oscar nominations will be announced on January 24, 2017. The award ceremony of the 89th Academy Awards will take place in Hollywood on February 26, 2017.
SWISS FILMS, December 15, 2017
Further information:
Golden Globe nomination for “My Life as a Zucchini”
“My Life as a Zucchini” honoured with European Film Award 2016
Oscars 2017: These Swiss films are in the running
«Ma vie de Courgette» is Switzerland's entry for the Oscar race