‘Waltz with Bashir,’ Israeli director Ari Folman’s animated film about his experiences as an IDF soldier in the 1982 Lebanon war, may win an Oscar in the Best Foreign Lanugage category when the Academy Awards are presented on Sunday. It has already garnered numerous awards, including a Golden Globe, which is often used to predict Oscar success.Â
In today’s Globe and Mail, “Israeli Oscar Hopeful got a Canadian boost,” by arts reporter Guy Dixon, Â explores how a trip to Canada’s Hot Docs film festival helped Folman secure financing.
Writes Dixon: “Acclaimed for its inventive blend of animation and documentary…Folman’s concept for the film (which is in Hebrew) was a difficult sell to financial backers. A serious documentary using animation is obviously outside the norm and raised questions about what tack the director would take and the tone of the piece.
“In the end, it took a pitching session at Toronto’s Hot Docs festival in 2005 to get international broadcasters interested enough to back the film.”
If you still haven’t seen “Waltz with Bashir,” the trailer will give you a glimpse at this unique and compelling film:
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