Animated films “Wanlove” and “Electra” may be eligible for Oscars

Varya Yakovleva and Daria Kashcheeva are contenders for the Academy Award shortlist

The Oscar shortlist will be announced on December 21, and the nominees will be announced on January 23. Among the likely contenders are VGIK graduate Varya Yakovleva and Prague Film School student Daria Kashcheeva. Their films “Wanlove” and “Electra” are already known in the global film community.

Varya Yakovleva’s 10-minute “Wanlove” was filmed at the SHAR studio and passed the first qualifying selection of the American Film Academy in the “Animated Short Film” category. This is the story of a girl in a state of anxiety and stress, partly based on personal experience. The film touches on the theme of violence and the relationship between the victim and the one who suppresses her. A person is constantly in danger, no matter where he is, even in his own home. A young couple becomes a victim of aggression from strangers who appear in their apartment. When a man is unable to protect his beloved, she turns into a fury, ready to fight back against anyone. Violence begets violence.

The film uses the technique of rolling oil paint on glass, which is then transferred to paper, as well as the technology of applying a picture on top of video materials.

“Wanlove” was shown at the main Russian animation festival in Suzdal and received the domestic Icarus Award for best director. The film took part in more than forty international festivals, including Ottawa, Lisbon, Tallinn, Nijmegen, Paris, Zagreb.

Varya Yakovleva graduated from the art department of VGIK, after which she worked for seven years on the film “The Nose, or the Conspiracy of “Not So”” by Andrei Khrzhanovsky as a storyboard artist, and later as a production designer. While the project was temporarily frozen due to lack of funding, Varya graduated from the SHAR School-Studio of Animated Film, which celebrated its 30th anniversary this year.

Her short film “Life is a Scoundrel” was also included in the 2022 Oscar longlist. The film was withdrawn from competition at a festival in Tampere, Finland. And then there was a scandal at the animation festival in Zagreb, where the film received the Grand Prix, after which the jury was accused of winning the prize for a film produced with funds from the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.

Varya is actively involved in exhibition activities. Her recent projects are “Our imperfections make us individuals”, “Anatomical Atlas of Pain”, focusing on how the human body reacts to disturbing events, military actions, acquiring new diseases and disorders. Varya is currently creating her project in Paris.

The film “Electra” by Prague Academy of Arts (FAMU) student Daria Kashcheeva, a native of Tajikistan who studied in Moscow, is also vying for the Oscar shortlist. Her animated film “Daughter” in 2020 was included in the Oscar shortlist in the category “Best Animated Short Film” (Daria represented the Czech Republic) along with the film “He Can’t Live Without Space” by Russian director and two-time Oscar nominee Konstantin Bronzite. For “Daughter” Daria Kashcheeva received a student Oscar.

In Elektra, the heroine becomes Barbie. All her friends are the same plastic beauties, but they are capable of feeling. The world of the main character is full of fears and secret desires. In essence, we are talking about the ancient “Electra complex”. Electra experiences pain because of her relationship with her parents, remembering her birthday when her father left the family and gave her a Barbie.

Daria Kashcheeva’s film participated in the student competition at the recent Cannes Film Festival, was shortlisted for the student competition at the British BAFTA Film Award, and won Best Short Film according to IMDbPro at the Toronto Film Festival.