Ninety-three titles entered the running in the category of Best Animated Short Film. Among these, the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences selected only 15 titles shortlisted for a nomination. One of these is Croatian animated short Eeva, created by artistic duo Lucija Mrzljak and Morten Tšinakov, with producers Draško Ivezić of Adriatic Animation, and Kelav Tamm of Estonian studio Eesti Joonisfilm.

“We were pleasantly surprised by the news. Although this does not guarantee a nomination, it is an exceptional honor, given the great number of titles that were in the running. I really wasn’t expecting this since the competition was excellent. This is a validation of the professional quality of Croatian animated film, our studio Adriatic Animation, as well as a compliment to the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, which supports quality projects and in doing so fosters the cultural development of Croatia. We hope that the nominations will reflect this fact as well,” said on the occasion the film’s producer Draško Ivezić.

The 15-title shortlist also includes the Cannes Palme d'Or winner in the category of animated short, 27, directed by Flóra Anna Buda. The list of all shortlisted titles in the category of Best Animated Short Film is available on THIS link, along with titles shortlisted in a total of 10 categories.

Among the 93 titles that were considered for the shortlist, was another Croatian film, Remember How I Used to Ride a White Horse created by Ivana Bošnjak Volda and Thomas Johnson Volda. Back in 2021, Dalibor Barić’s feature animation, Accidental Luxuriance of the Translucent Watery Rebus, was among the 27 titles considered for the Oscar nomination in this category.

Eeva’s successes

The animated short Eeva entered the running for an Oscar nomination by scooping up best animation at the Nashville Film Festival. Although it was this recognition that allowed it to be considered for the most prestigious film award in the world, it is only one in a string of awards for Eeva.

Since its premiere in Tallinn at PÖFF Shorts, it screened and received awards at over 70 festivals worldwide, including the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, taking home the Alexeïeff – Parker Award, and the World Festival of Animated Film Animafest

Zagreb, where it won Best Film in the Croatian competition. Eeva also received the ASIFA Croatia Award for Best Croatian Professional Film in 2023.

The animated short also screened at the prestigious Berlinale and the ShortFest in California, as well as being awarded for Best Sound Design (Jure Buljević) at the Ottawa International Animation Festival this year.

The award-winning animation depicts the saddest day in Eeva’s life, after suddenly becoming a widow. It’s raining at the funeral. There’s a lot of crying, too much wine, a few woodpeckers and a couple of dreams to fill in the blanks.

In addition to directing the film, Lucija Mrzljak and Morten Tšinakov also edited the film and created the script (Tšinakov) and designs (Mrzljak), while alongside them the animations were done by Goran Stojnić and Noemi Ribić, as well as Estonians colleagues Egert Kesa and Tarmo Vaarmets. The sound design was done by Jure Buljević.

Nominations in all the categories for the 96th Academy Awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be announced on 23rd January 2024.

The 96th Oscars gala will be held on 10th March 2024.

All news about the awards nominations and ceremony are available on the official website of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Stills from Eeva are available for download on THIS link.