Facebook is nominated for an Academy Award for the first time
Facebook is officially in the process of being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Documentary Film for a movie titled Colette, written and directed by Emmy Award-winning director Anthony Giacchino, produced by Oculus Studios and Respawn Entertainment from EA, and published by the British Guardian newspaper.
The movie was produced as part of the virtual reality game Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond.
Colette - who is 24 minutes long - tells the story of 90-year-old Colette Marin-Catherine, one of the last surviving members of the French Resistance, who confronts her past by visiting the Nazi concentration camp in Germany where her brother was killed.
Catherine travels to Germany for the first time in 74 years, and has always refused to set foot in Germany, but she was inspired by a young history student who enters her life as part of her research in the camp and persuades her to visit the Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp, where the Nazis killed her brother.
The film follows Catherine as she travels with a young history student to the remains of a forced labor camp near Nordhausen, Germany, on a journey of discovery that reopens old wounds and lessons of the past.
Colette was selected as one of five films nominated in the short documentary category for the 93rd Academy Awards, and the 2021 Academy Awards winners are due to be announced Sunday, April 25.
Set during World War II, Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond blends video game events and history together through gameplay and several short films, including Colette, which focuses on veterans' stories.
In the game, players play the role of an Allied agent of the OSS, tasked with infiltrating and defeating the Nazi war machine.
Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond is directed by creative director (Peter Hirschmann) Peter Hirschmann of Respawn Entertainment, who was formerly executive producer and vice president of product development at LucasArts who oversaw the development of Star Wars and Indiana Jones games.