- Nefta Football Club is selected for the Oscars 2020 in the short film category.
- Its director, the Nantais Yves Piat, signs his third project there.
- The film has multiplied the awards since its release in festivals.
It is clearly less media-friendly than Les Misérables but remains one of the four French chances of winning an Oscar on Sunday evening. Selected in the best short film category, Nefta Football Club is a 17-minute film shot in the Tunisian desert and carried by two young inexperienced actors. Its scriptwriter and director, the Nantais Yves Piat, has been in Los Angeles for two weeks to "experience the event" and "respond to requests from journalists".
On Wednesday, on the occasion of the traditional lunch of the Oscar-nominated artists, he even received a hug from Charlize Theron by way of congratulations. "It's incredible what is happening, it's a dream, we never imagined finding ourselves there when we embarked on the adventure a little over a year ago," says -t it.
"This film is accompanied by a lucky star"
The shooting, originally planned in Casablanca (Morocco), took place in six days in Tunisia with a small budget. “I was told not to shoot with children, to avoid animals [the story begins with a donkey wandering over headphones] and, in addition, I added a difficulty with the Arabic language , he laughs. I believe that this film is accompanied by a lucky star. "
Nefta Football Club - Oscar®-Nominated Live Action Short Film (EN / FR / ESP / PT / IT) from Les Valseurs on Vimeo.
Above all, the two main actors were recruited after an improvised street casting. "They come from underprivileged areas of Tunis," explains the director. They had never done a theater, had never seen the desert. They bring a lot of freshness. The youngest danced in the middle of a group of older children. He was magnificent. As soon as I saw him, I knew it was him. "
"Everything is possible now"
Critically acclaimed, Nefta Football Club, produced by Les Valseurs , has already won 65 festival awards, including 20 public awards, in the past year. Yves Piat, for his part, tries to “put things into perspective”. “A film is an act of love. When it works it's great. But I know that we can give our all and find failure. It is then extremely violent. »It must be said that after his first short film, Tempus Fugit , in 2001, with actor Maurice Garrel, his feature film project never came to fruition. “It had been a terrible disappointment. I thought it was unfair. It hurt so much that I quit for ten years. Today I have new energy. A bit of maturity too. "
His third project, that of the renaissance, will he win the famous statuette? "Everything is possible now but, frankly, I don't make any plans. Being nominated is already a great recognition. For the rest, Yves Piat is already working on "different scripts for short and feature films". And do not forget that it will find the spotlight again on February 28 for the César 2020 ceremony, since Nefta Football Club is also named there.
Nantes
"Nefta Football Club", the short film by Oscar-nominated Nantais Yves Piat
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