Executive produced by Peter Hirschmann and produced by Alice Doyard, Annie Small and Aaron Matthews, Colette has been selected by voters as one of the five films nominated in the Documentary Short Subject category for the 93rd Academy Awards. The winners of the 2021 Oscars will be announced on Sunday 25 April.
Colette is the second Guardian documentary to be nominated for an Oscar, following the success of Black Sheep which made the Oscar nominations list in 2019. Colette’s executive producers for the Guardian were Charlie Phillips, Lindsay Poulton and Jess Gormley.
Colette tells the story of 90-year-old Colette Marin-Catherine, one of the last surviving members of the French Resistance, who confronts her past by visiting the Nazi concentration camp in Germany where her brother, Jean-Pierre, was killed. She always refused to set foot in Germany. This changes when a young history student named Lucie enters Colette’s life as part of her research into the camp where Jean-Pierre died. The film follows Colette as she travels with Lucie to what remains of the forced labor camp near Nordhausen, Germany, in a journey of discovery that reopens old wounds and lessons of the past.
The film is free to watch on the Guardian website here.
Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief, Guardian News & Media says: “Colette’s story is one of courage and resilience and I am proud the Guardian gave a platform to tell it, helping to share this moving documentary with audiences around the world. The Oscar nomination is wonderful news and a huge honour for everyone involved in the making of this poignant film.”
Charlie Phillips, head of video, Guardian News & Media says: “We are proud to have released Colette on the Guardian and to see this special documentary be recognised with an Oscar nomination. The film looks back at resistance against Nazism and historical guilt in a way never seen before. We are excited to have brought this film to a global audience through our Guardian Documentaries strand and to introduce them to the life of Colette, who is an inspiration to us all.”
Anthony Giacchino, writer and director of Colette, says: “We were filled with gratitude to be shortlisted with nine amazing documentary shorts, but being selected as one of the final five nominees is astonishing. It’s truly an honor for the film team and we’re deeply grateful to Colette and Lucie for trusting us to capture the friendship, vulnerability, and healing of their emotional pilgrimage.”
Colette has already won Best Documentary Short Film at Big Sky Documentary Film Festival; The Young Cineastes Award from Palm Springs ShortFest; Best Documentary Short at St. Louis International Film Festival; and Best Director at the Fargo Film Festival.
A full list of the Oscar nominations can be found here.
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