The Swiss-French stop motion feature My Life as a Zucchini (Ma vie de courgette) is one of nine films that has been shortlisted for the foreign-language film category of the Academy Awards. The Switzerland entry was selected from a record 85 submissions.
Only one animated feature has previously been nominated in the category—Israel’s Waltz with Bashir. That film did not receive a nomination in the animated feature category, but Claude Barras’ Zucchini could potentially earn a dual nomination in both the foreign language and animated feature categories.
Last weekend, Zucchini won the European Film Awards prize for best animated feature. The film has been a breakthrough hit for Barras, a first-time feature film director. Following the experiences of a group of kids living in a foster home, it has screened in the Director’s Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival, and won both the Feature Film Cristal and Audience Prize at Annecy earlier this year.
