Calamity, a Childhood of Martha Jane Cannary, the sole French contestant for this year’s animated feature Oscar, can now be streamed by animation professionals around the world — for free. The film has been added to the Animation Showcase streaming platform, which makes award contenders and other content available to those in the industry.
Rémi Chayé’s film, an origin story of sorts for the frontierswoman Calamity Jane, has yet to pick up U.S. distribution, despite winning the top feature prize at last year’s Annecy Festival. The director’s previous film Long Way North (2015) was released in the U.S. by Shout! Factory and nominated for an Annie in the independent animated feature category. Calamity has also qualified for the Annies.
The streaming platform is the brainchild of Benoit Berthe Siward, founder and CEO of The Animation Showcase, a strategy agency closely involved with award campaigns for animated films. Berthe Siward launched the platform initially to give visibility to shorts, which rarely get shown in theaters even in the best of times.
