Canadian film ‘Eternal Spring’ misses Oscar race for best international feature

TORONTO – Canada’s entry for best international feature has been knocked out of the competition at next year’s Oscars.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the short list of films that will advance to the next round of voting in the category and “Eternal Spring” is not on it.

Jason Loftus’s animated documentary about religious persecution in China was this year’s submission for Canada.

“Eternal Spring” tells the story of the banned spiritual group Falun Gong, which was targeted by police raids after a faction of members hacked into a state TV signal in an effort to correct the record about their practice.

The Mandarin-language film was produced by Telefilm Canada and was the first animated feature to be submitted by the country.

The Academy has also revealed the short list for nine other categories and there are Canadian projects in the running in some of them. Those include the National Film Board’s “The Flying Sailor,” inspired by the events of the 1917 Halifax explosion, vying for a best animated short nomination, and Toronto filmmaker Sarah Polley’s “Women Talking,” shortlisted for a best original score nom.

The Oscar nominations for all categories will be announced on Jan. 24.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 21, 2022.

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