Canada’s House In LA Celebrates Canadian Oscar Nominees
On Thursday evening, Consul General of Canada in Los Angeles, Zaib Shaikh and his wife Kirstine Stewart hosted this year’s Canadian Oscar nominees at Canada’s House in LA. The event, co-hosted by Telefilm Canada in collaboration with the National Film Board of Canada and the Talent Fund, saw several of the nominees in attendance alongside industry leaders, established and emerging filmmakers and actors.
Shaikh spoke to SHARP on the red carpet, saying, “That’s become the beauty of our country. We have Indigenous storytellers who are talking about a history, that’s also a pre-history, to so many of the immigrants who come to the country. Then, they take on another generation of storytelling. To have that mix of folks who have been here, not just for decades, but communities who’ve been here for centuries, to have newcomers, to have folks say, ‘I’m seventh generation Canadian,’ to have all those people be so proud and remind us about how Canadian they are — and then to see the stories that they show us on screen, whether it’s a real life story from a documentary, or a fictional story, or animation story — that’s wondrous. Like, if that’s what we represent as a nation and who we are as a nation, I think that says a lot of good things.”
Looking to the future, Shaikh would like to reach a point where “we don’t need institutions for more moments in the calendar, or highlights of what we’re saying when we talk about diversity, equity inclusion. I’d like to see that global divide and that global power actually dismissed, [to] not have to comment that ‘here I am being different.’ The story should be told, and shouldn’t be talked about. When we get to tell that story, then I think we’ve reached the brink.”
“The diverse array of nominations truly reflects the boundless creativity and excellence of Canadian talent, proving once again that our talent knows no bounds,” said Julie Roy, Executive Director and CEO of Telefilm Canada. “It is with great pride that we celebrate the cinematic brilliance of Canadians at this year’s Oscars.”
This year’s Canadian Oscar nominees include: Ryan Gosling for Best Supporting Actor in Barbie, Celine Song for Best Original Screenplay for Past Lives, Nisha Pahuja, Cornelia Principe, and David Oppenheim for Best Documentary Feature for To Kill a Tiger, Vincent René-Lortie and Samuel Caron for Best Live Action Short Invincible, Ben Proudfoot for Best Documentary Short with The Last Repair Shop, Troy Quane and Julie Zackary for Best Animated Feature Film for Nimona, Stephane Ceretti for Guardians of the Galaxy 3 and Jeff Sutherland for Mission Impossible for Best Visual Effects, and the late Robbie Robertson for Best Original Score in Killers of the Flower Moon.
“I think there is something very special in Canada. […] There is this acceptance of other cultures, other people in Canada. It’s a mosaic as opposed to a melting pot. I think that allows for such interesting, diverse perspectives.”
Troy Quane
Nimona director Troy Quane joined us on the carpet to share his excitement at being nominated, especially since they received a lot of pushback when it came to making the film.
“As a very proud Canadian, I think there is something very special in Canada. I mean, no one’s perfect. We all do our best. But there is this acceptance of other cultures, other people in Canada. It’s a mosaic as opposed to a melting pot. I think that allows for such interesting, diverse perspectives. It just sort of seeps into our storytelling and seeps into the media we get to consume, the people we know, the friends we make. I think that just naturally translates into the stories we get to tell when we have the opportunity.”
Speaking on the challenges of making the film, he said: “The pushback on Nimona was the subject matter and the LGBTQ+ themes. It’s sad to say in this day and age, there’s still a huge amount of fear about adjusting our view to allow it to really represent what the world looks like.
“I think that comes down from this idea of, at least in animation space, to make any story feel too niche but what we found with Nimona was that the more we leaned into it, the more we hold hands — this is what the story is about — the more universal it became. More people said, like ‘I might not have that specific experience, but I know what that feels like. I know what it feels like to be othered, I know what it feels like to want to change how I look to fit in or not stand out’ and it became this really powerful experience to realize that the human condition is really a shared one. We’re all really more similar than different.”
Nisha Pahuja’s To Kill a Tiger is nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary feature. The director expressed her joy at being nominated, describing it as “surreal, unbelievable, really happy and we’re excited. So many people have been a part of this whole journey. It’s been a long road.” It took the filmmaker eight years to make this film as she ran the campaign alongside a group of committed activists and was soon funded and supported by many producers, including Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Andy Cohen, Anita Lee.
The film will premiere on Netflix and having this platform for people all over the world to see it and make a change, and it’s what fueled Pahuja’s desire to pursue the long journey to making it.
Canadian actor Aaron Abrams, who recently starred in Code 8, said, “We support individual stories and also there’s like a blue collar atmosphere in the industry. Like you look at the Amells, like those guys have real work ethic. The community’s not gonna give you anything, the industry is not gonna hand out anything. You got to work your butt off. Code 8 is a perfect example of that.”
Abrams believes Canadian stories are unique: “Nowadays, when you’re trying to appeal to the masses and when you try to make something general, it doesn’t connect with anybody. When you make something specific, then it connects with a lot more people. You find that with the kinds of stories we tell, the Canadian nominated films. Even Ryan Gosling, he’s such a specific actor, and not just some regular hunk going up there and being sort of general.”
