Two Catalan short films shortlisted for Oscars

The Catalan short films 'Paris 70' and 'The Masterpiece' have advanced to the next round of Oscars voting, as announced by the Hollywood academy on Tuesday.

The live-action shorts were part of the 180-strong longlist from around the world.

Now, the works of Osono native Dani Feixas and Barcelona local Àlex Lora have passed to the shortlist of only 15 movies, from which the finalist nominees will emerge.

'Paris 70' was previously awarded Best Catalan Production at the Filmets 2024 Awards, while it also received the Audience Award for Best Short Film at the Psicurt festival, a festival for short films on the topic of mental health.

Meanwhile, 'The Masterpiece' was hailed as Best Short Film at the Forqué Awards.

On the other hand, 'Saturn Return' has not made it past the longlist stage, and has been dropped for the shortlist of the Best International Feautre award.

Catalan talent has only ever been nominated 13 times at the Oscars, winning only twice. 

The feat was first accomplished by Néstor Almendros in 1979, when he picked up the Oscar award for Best Cinematography for Terrence Malick's 'Days of Heaven'.

The second film with Catalan participation to take home an Oscar was 'Pan's Labyrinth', when Montse Ribé and David Martí won the award for Best Makeup in 2007.

Catalonia had two films competing for three Oscars in the last awards ceremony held in LA in March 2024, 'Society of the Snow' for Best Makeup and Hairstyling and Best International Feature, while 'Robot Dreams' stood for Best Animated Feature. However, both films lost out on the night.