The international screening of the full-length animated film “My marriage project” by the director and artist Signe Baumane has reached an unprecedented scale for a Latvian film – more than 100 festivals around the world have included it in their programs, the film has already toured the cinemas of several European countries, but since the beginning of October it has arrived in the USA and Canada cinema screens. On the other hand, on December 7, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences published the list of 33 films that claim nominations for the “Oscar” award in the category of full-length animated films, and among them is the film “My Marriage Project”.
At the beginning of October of this year, the screening of the film My Marriage Project in North America began with screenings in New York, then the film traveled to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto and elsewhere, in total, the film has already been shown in 33 cities of the North American continent. In many of them, the director Signe Baumane also came to meet the audience to answer the questions of the interested parties after the screenings.
“The last months have been very intense, we actually live out of suitcases,” laughs Signe. “But the conversations with the audience are very energizing, sometimes the atmosphere in the hall is such that it seems – sparks are flying! And it’s interesting how differently the film is perceived in Latvia and North America. In Latvia, the audience was more attracted by the historical realities of the Soviet Union, memories, societal prejudices. But in North America, the audience lives very much along with how domestic violence appears in the film, its various manifestations. And these themes turn out to be universal – for example, a representative of the African-American community in San Francisco was really surprised that in a different culture and in a different era, the situations are identical to what she faces on a daily basis. So I’m very happy that the Latvian Saeima has finally ratified the Istanbul Convention – I am following this process from America. I have faced violence in my life and I know how important it is to have somewhere to seek help, so this seems to me a very important step.”
On the other hand, the film’s producer Roberts Vinovskis emphasizes: “The fact that a film made in a Latvian studio claims an Oscar nomination on the same level as the biggest Hollywood studios is, of course, great! But the fact that the film has reached such a wide audience – such an ambitious Latvian showing the film in cinemas outside our country is an unprecedented case in the entire history of Latvian cinema. It shows that our films can be attractive to an international audience even outside the circle of festivals. I think this is a great achievement for the entire Latvian cinema; we are very pleased and motivated to continue what we have started. “
Currently, the director Signe Baumane is already working on her latest project – the full-length film Karmicas nozods, which is also being developed at Lokomotive Studio. It will be the final, third part in a trilogy of full-length animated films, in which the first part is Rocks in my Pockets (2014) and the second – My Marriage Project (2022).
After its world premiere at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival (New York), Signe Baumane’s film My Marriage Project has already been shown in more than 100 festival programs around the world, but in the competition of all European animations, it became one of the five full-length works nominated for the prestigious European Film Academy Award in 2022 Best Animated Film.
At world film festivals, My Marriage Project has already received 24 awards – both the special recognition of the jury at the prestigious Annecy Festival in France, and the best animation feature award at the Vyborg Festival in Denmark, the Grand Prix at the prestigious Zagreb Animation Festival, the Tryon Film Festival in the USA, and the Friedrichstadt Animation Festival in Norway; received a number of other awards in various categories in Romania, Japan, South Korea, Egypt and elsewhere.
This year’s Stuttgart International Animation Film Festival in Germany recognized Signi Bauman as one of the most important women in the animation industry and awarded the festival’s special Honorary Trickstar award for outstanding creative and artistic performance.
In Latvia, at the presentation ceremony of the National Cinema Award Lielais Kristaps, My Marriage Project was recognized as the best animated film of 2022, while Signe Baumane received the awards as the best director of an animated film and the best artist of an animated film.
At the end of 2022, My Marriage Project was shown in Spanish cinemas, currently it can be seen on online platforms in Spain and Italy, while this summer the film was shown in 22 French cities, including the largest cinemas in Paris. My Marriage Project is also available for streaming on the popular TV channel HBO Central Europe.
This year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ list of nominees for the Oscars includes a record number of animated films – 33, including films made by Sony, Pixar and other world’s largest animation studios. On January 23 of next year, five films will be named, which will receive an Oscar nomination in the Best Animated Film category.
Animated film for adults My marriage project asks the eternal question – what is love, how to find and keep it? The film tells about a young woman Zelma’s search for love, which also involves the mythical sirens, learning to strive for a perfect marriage. However, idealistic notions inevitably collapse when Biology joins the events with its hormones and neural signals that influence a woman’s emotions and actions.
The film was made at Studio Lokomotīve, it is a co-production of Latvia, the USA and Luxembourg, made with the financial support of the National Cinema Center. In Latvia, the film can be seen on LMT Smart TV, Tet.plus and Go3.
Photo: Still from the animated film/Publicity
2023-12-11 08:31:22
#Latvian #animated #film #marriage #project #running #Oscar #nomination
