Film Fund Luxembourg has announced that two Luxembourgish co-productions, Wolfwalkers and Collective, are in the running to win one of the most famous and prestigious film awards in the world: the Oscars.
The awards, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, will be given out at the 93rd ceremony at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles on April 25, 2021. The event will be broadcast live on ABC in the United States and in more than 225 countries.
Collective by Alexander Nanau, a co-production of Luxembourg (Samsa Film) and Romania, is nominated in the categories “Best Documentary Film” and “Best international film” (representing Romania).
Since its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in 2019, as well as at the Toronto Film Festival the same year, the film has made an impressive journey around the world, winning among others the Luxembourg City Film Festival award for “Best Documentary Film” in March 2020 and the prize for “Best European Documentary” at the European Film Awards in 2020.
Synopsis: Collective is about what happened after a horrendous fire at Bucharest’s Colectiv nightclub in 2015 which killed 64 people. It presents a darkly effective overview of the cycle of political corruption and public cynicism that takes hold when government abrogates its responsibility to the people.
Wolfwalkers by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart, a co-production of Luxembourg (Mélusine Productions) and Ireland, was nominated in the “Best Animated Feature” category.
Since its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2020, Wolfwalkers has been critically acclaimed with 18 awards and 39 international nominations, including the most recently at the Golden Globes.
Synopsis: In Ireland, at a time of superstitions and magic, Robyn, an 11-year-old girl, helps her father hunting the last pack of wolves. But one day, while on a hunt in the forest, Robyn meets Mebh, a child by day, wolf by night. Now for Robyn, the threat no longer comes from wolves, but from men.