{"id":5124,"date":"2025-12-18T10:52:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T09:52:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sicvenezia.it\/playing-god-shortlist-oscar\/"},"modified":"2025-12-18T11:01:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T10:01:10","slug":"playing-god-shortlist-oscar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sicvenezia.it\/en\/playing-god-shortlist-oscar\/","title":{"rendered":"Italian cinema championed by the Venice Critics\u2019 Week heads to the Oscars: Playing God shortlisted for the Academy Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the 39th Settimana Internazionale della Critica<\/strong>,\u00a0Playing God\u00a0\u2014 an extraordinary stop-motion short film directed by Matteo Burani<\/strong> and animated by Arianna Gheller<\/strong> for Studio Croma Animation<\/strong> \u2014 premiered in competition within the SIC@SIC section. Today, that \u201cinfernal and visionary\u201d film \u2014 as we described it at its world premiere in Venice \u2014 marks a historic milestone:\u00a0Playing God<\/strong>\u00a0has officially entered the\u00a015-title shortlist for the Academy Awards\u00ae<\/strong>\u00a0in the\u00a0Best Animated Short Film<\/strong>\u00a0category.\u00a0It is\u00a0the first Italian short ever to reach the Oscars shortlist in this category.<\/p>\n

Nine minutes of matter, light and human fissures:\u00a0Playing God\u00a0digs its hands into the contradictions of our time, opening a reflection on fragility, marginalisation and the longing for belonging. A philosophical piece of body horror that stages creation and destruction as a social metaphor, reminding us that each individual is shaped \u2014 and reshaped \u2014 through the gaze of others.<\/p>\n

News of the shortlist arrives after an exhilarating festival run:\u00a0180 official selections,\u00a092 international awards, and a global tour that began in Venice and reached Clermont-Ferrand, Annecy, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Palm Springs and Indianapolis \u2014 including the two Oscar\u00ae-qualifying festivals where the film won the\u00a0Grand Prix for Best Animated Short:\u00a0Tribeca<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Animayo<\/strong>. A success built over time, the result of seven years of work and the tenacity of an under-35 team that chose to remain in Italy to make films, trusting in the power of handcrafted stop motion in an era dominated by digital automation.<\/p>\n

Produced by Studio Croma Animation, co-produced by Autour de Minuit and Onira, and supported by the Emilia-Romagna Film Commission, the Italian Ministry of Culture and the CNC, Playing God began as a low-budget Kickstarter project before catching the attention of Autour de Minuit \u2014 a rarity within the current international animation landscape, made even brighter by its recognition from the Academy\u00ae. In Italy,\u00a0distribution and sales\u00a0are handled by\u00a0Sayonara Film.<\/p>\n

\u00abThis achievement rewards a long, demanding journey made of attempts, errors, stubbornness, and above all the deep desire to tell the story of our time,\u00bb say Burani and Gheller. The producers echo this sentiment, describing\u00a0Playing God\u00a0as \u00aba mirror of the present: a dark era, favourable to tyrants and oppression, yet still capable of revealing a glimmer of collective hope.\u00bb<\/p>\n

We are thrilled to see the international film community now recognizing the film\u2019s vision \u2014 just as we did at the moment of its selection \u2014 and immensely proud to see Playing God representing Italy in the Academy Awards race.\u00a0On the eve of the final nominations \u2014 to be announced on\u00a022 January, ahead of the\u00a0Academy Awards\u00ae ceremony on 15 March\u00a0in Los Angeles \u2014 the Critics\u2019 Week celebrates the film and its creators.<\/p>\n

Beatrice Fiorentino<\/strong>, General Delegate and Artistic Director of the SIC, states:
\n\u00abPlaying God\u00a0reaching the Oscars shortlist is an extraordinary achievement that fills us with joy and pride. It is the success of Matteo, Arianna and the entire team, but also the confirmation of the value and the vision behind\u00a0SIC@SIC (Short Italian Cinema @ Settimana Internazionale della Critica), a section dedicated to short films and organised in collaboration with\u00a0Cinecitt\u00e0, which for ten years has invested with conviction in the research and discovery of new Italian talents.\u00a0Playing God\u00a0captures the spirit of our present: restless, at times dark, marked by fragility and a longing for community. It reminds us how essential independent cinema \u2014 and animated cinema, too often overlooked \u2014 is for understanding the world. To the entire team, from all of us at SIC, our warmest and strongest good luck for this extraordinary journey.\u00bb<\/p>\n

Playing God\u00a0will be available on YouTube from 22 December to 11 January. For any updates and official materials, you can visit the Autour de Minuit<\/a> website or the film\u2019s dedicated social media channels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the 39th Settimana Internazionale della Critica,\u00a0Playing God\u00a0\u2014 an extraordinary stop-motion short film directed by Matteo Burani and animated by Arianna Gheller for Studio Croma Animation \u2014 premiered in competition within the SIC@SIC section. Today, that \u201cinfernal and visionary\u201d film \u2014 as we described it at its world premiere in Venice \u2014 marks a historic […]<\/p>\n

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