The film Eternal Spring by director, screenwriter and producer Jason Loftus alongside screenwriters Masha Loftus and the Pearman brothers and producers Masha Loftus, Yvan Pinard and Kevin Koo, will represent Canada in the nomination process for Best International Film of the 95th Academy Awards, which will take place on March 12, 2023. The film is produced by Lofty Sky Entertainment. The film’s international sales agency is Sideways Film.
“It is with great enthusiasm that we announce that eternal spring was selected from 16 films submitted to the pan-Canadian selection committee, which concluded that it was the film with the best chance of positioning itself well throughout the race for the Oscar, which involves several stages,” says Christa Dickenson, Telefilm Canada’s Executive Director and CEO.
She goes on to say that “this adventure represents an exceptional opportunity for eternal spring to reach new audiences and thus offers a golden opportunity to promote the high quality of Canadian cinematography. This is why Telefilm will support the film crew within the framework of this prestigious competition…”.
“To be selected to represent Canada in the Best International Film category for the 95th Academy Awards is a huge honour,” said Jason Loftus, director, screenwriter and producer. ” eternal spring is the product of Canada’s creativity, diversity and tolerance. Through Daxiong’s story and art, and the talent of our Quebec-based animation team, we hope this universal story of courage in the face of injustice and repression will resonate globally. »
The film eternal spring has been presented in several international festivals, and will be released on September 23 across Canada, and October 14 in the United States. It is an animated documentary film and notably highlights the work of internationally renowned illustrator Daxiong.
So far, five countries have submitted their nominations for Best International Film. Last year, 92 countries submitted a film in this category.
A preview of the film
In March 2002, the signal of a Chinese state TV channel was hijacked by members of Falun Gong, a formally banned spiritual association. The purpose of the action is to counter the false narrative put forward by the government about their practice. In the aftermath, police raids are carried out throughout the city of Changchun and the cartoonist of comics Daxiong (Justice League, Star Wars), himself a follower of Falun Gong, is forced to flee. Exiled in North America, he is convinced that this action has exacerbated the brutal repression targeting the movement. But his certainties are shaken by contact with the only surviving participant who managed to flee China, now living in Seoul, South Korea. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the piracy of Chinese TV airwaves, combining contemporary images with 3D animations inspired by Daxiong’s illustrations, the film eternal spring reconstructs this unprecedented action of disobedience, relays poignant testimonies of the persecution and weaves the inspiring story of an unshakable determination to defend political and religious freedoms at all costs.
Canada in the Oscars Best International Film (formerly Best Foreign Language Film) category
In the history of the Oscars, eight Canadian films have been officially nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film category: in 2013, Rebel by Kim Nguyen; in 2012, Mr. Lazhar by Philippe Falardeau and In Darkness by Agnieszka Holland (a minority co-production with Poland and Germany); in 2011, Fires by Denis Villeneuve; and, in 2007, Water by Deepa Mehta. Three films by Denys Arcand were also nominated: The Decline of the American Empire in 1987, Jesus of Montreal in 1990 and The Barbarian invasions in 2004, the only Canadian film to win the statuette in this category.
Selection process for the Best International Film category
For information, Telefilm Canada coordinates and chairs the pan-Canadian selection committee without however having the right to vote. The latter is made up of about twenty delegates who represent the main government bodies and national film industry associations. This jury is responsible for choosing the film that will represent Canada to theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which only accepts one film per country for the Best International Film category. The submitted film must have been produced outside of the United States in a language other than English and have been in theaters for seven consecutive days between January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. A short list of 15 films chosen from all the films received will be revealed on December 21, 2022. Of these, five titles will be officially nominated on January 24, 2023.
Source: telefilm.ca
