Members of the Academy tasked with choosing the animated films to receive a nomination for an Academy Award will now proceed to watch at least fifty percent of the titles in the category. The five nominations will be announced in late March, given that the Academy Awards ceremony has been postponed until late April. According to American film portal The Wrap, given the circumstances caused by the pandemic, until a week ago, it seemed there would only be 13 films competing in this category. However, the Animated Feature race has received a boost by the addition of 14 international contenders, including the Croatian film produced by Zagreb production house Kaos and Ivan Katić as producer.   

"How do I feel about this news? It is surreal. Unexpected. Everything I say is going to sound predictable but that is all I have at this point. We are very happy, exhausted with euphoria. I’d like to sleep on it and then take a moment to think about everything," said on the occasion director Dalibor Barić, adding, "From what I’ve learned through an article published by The Wrap, 14 international contenders have been added to the Animated Feature category and I think an important factor for finding ourselves among them was the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, along with Animafest Zagreb and the ASIFA Los Angeles Annie Awards – Accidental Luxuriance of the Translucent Watery Rebus’ had its world premiere at Annecy, it premiered in Croatia at Animafest, and was then invited by ASIFA to participate in the Annie Awards. On our end, I think the faith and persistence of the film’s producer Ivan Katić have been crucial for this achievement."

Accidental Luxuriance of the Translucent Watery Rebus is a story about Martin, who tried to fight the system but is now on the run, and conceptual artist Sara. Together, they join a revolutionary commune in the countryside, with the police on their trail. Inspector Ambroz knows that asking the right questions is more important than the answers, because maybe none of this is true.

Dalibor Barić animated, directed and edited the film, as well as writing the script and music, while Ivan Katić was the film’s producer. Rakan Rushaidat, Ana Vilenica, Frano Mašković, Nikša Marinović, Mario Kovač, Željka Veverec, Boris Bakal and Pavlica Brazzoduro Bajsić lend voices to the characters, while Dino Brazzoduro and Ivan Zelić of Studio Nazor did the sound design. The film was created with the support from the Croatian Audiovisual Centre and the City of Rijeka.   

"Technically, out of the 27 films in the ‘screening room,’ only five will receive an Academy Award nomination. But, even getting this far has surpassed all of my expectations and it will take some time for me to process all of these impressions, because right now it all seems like a dream. I am familiar with the rest of the films in the category, I haven’t had a chance to see any of them yet, but I’m aware of the diversity, quality and range of these films, authors and studios," says director Dalibor Barić, concluding, "Croatian animation has a long-standing reputation and it is recognized on the international scene, a fact once again confirmed by new generations of young animation artists. From personal experience, I know that the people working in the production of animated film also love what they do and know and understand the environment. It is this love and enthusiasm that yields such great results."   

Cover photographs: scenes from Accidental Luxuriance of the Translucent Watery Rebus