YES-PEOPLE shortlisted for the Oscars in the Animated Short Film category
The Icelandic short film Yes-People, by Gísli Darri Halldórsson, is one of ten films shortlisted for the 93rd Academy Awards in the Animated Short Film category. A total of 96 films qualified in the category.
The song Husavik from the Netflix film Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga was also shortlisted in the Original Song category, one of 15 remaining songs from 105 eligible. Icelandic composer Atli Örvarsson, who wrote the film's score, conducted the song's string arrangements, which were recorded by the Icelandic orchestra Sinfonia Nord in Akureyri, Iceland.
Yes-People had its world premiere in January 2020 at the Minimalen Short Film Festival in Trondheim, Norway, and has been traveling the festival circuit since then. The film tells the story of an eclectic mix of people who one morning face everyday battles such as work, school, and washing the dishes. As the day progresses, their relationships, and their capacity to cope, are tested.
Yes-People was written and directed by Gísli Darri Halldórsson and produced by Arnar Gunnarsson and Halldórsson for the production company CAOZ. International sales are being handled by Magnetfilm. The film was supported by the Icelandic Film Centre.
The song Husavik, which celebrates life in the northern Iceland seaside town where much of Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga takes place, was written by Fat Max Gsus, Rickard Göransson, and Savan Kotecha and performed by Will Ferrell and Molly Sandén.
The final Oscar nominations will be announced on March 15.
In 2006 Rúnar Rúnarsson and Thor Sigurjonsson were nominated for Best Live Action Short for The Last Farm and over the years a total of nine Icelanders have been nominated for the Academy Awards. In 2020 the Icelandic composer Hildur Gudnadóttir won the Academy Award for Best Original Score for her score for the film Joker. In doing so, she became the first Icelander ever to win an Oscar.