Quebec short 'Invincible' named as finalist at the Oscars

Quebec director Vincent René-Lortie's short film Invincible has been selected as an Oscar finalist.

On Tuesday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the finalists in all categories ahead of the prestigious ceremony in March.

Invincible was officially nominated in the Best Dramatic Short category, along with four other finalists, including Wes Anderson's The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Ben Kingsley.

Inspired by the true story of one of the director's childhood friends, the 30-minute film follows the last 48 hours in the life of Marc-Antoine Bernier, played by Léokim Beaumier-Lépine, a 14-year-old boy who ends up in a youth centre.

Invincible also won the Iris Award for Best Quebec Short Fiction Film and the Special Jury Prize at the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival.

It qualified for the Oscars by winning the Best Fiction Short Film award at the Chicago Youth Film Festival.

In a statement after the Oscar nominations were announced, René-Lortie called it "a childhood dream come true" to be "chosen by the Academy from all the excellent films this year."

Montreal distribution company h264 will head to the Oscars for a second time following nominations for Jeremy Comte's short drama Fauve and Marianne Farley's Marguerite in 2019.

Philippe Falardeau, who was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film category for Monsieur Lazhar (2011) and subsequently toured the U.S., lent his support to René-Lortie's film during the pre-selection campaign.

Quebec shorts Oasis by director Justine Martin and Chat mort, written and directed by Annie-Claude Caron and Danick Audet, were shortlisted by the Academy but ultimately not named as finalists.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Jan. 23, 2024.