‘Bear Story’ from Chile wins Oscar for animated short at Academy Awards
Animated short
“Bear Story”
Gabriel Osorio and Pato Escala
“Bear Story,” a beautifully rendered tale of a Papa Bear longing to be reunited with his family, told as a presentation in a mechanical diorama, won the Oscar for animated short.
To viewers outside Chile, it’s a sad story about a separated family; to those familiar with the country’s horrific history under former dictator Augusto Pinochet, it’s a metaphor for the way that regime destroyed families. Director Gabriel Osorio has said the story was inspired by real events involving his grandfather.
OSCARS 2016: Full coverage | Complete list of winners and nominees
The 11-minute film was the first Chilean work to be nominated in the category. Other nominees included “World of Tomorrow,” a tale of a fractured future rendered in stick figures; “Sanjay’s Super Team,” a look at an Indian American boy’s discovery of the heroes of his father’s culture; “Prologue,” a wordless depiction of a clash between a pair of Athenians and a pair of Spartans; and “We Can’t Live Without Cosmos,” a tale of lifelong friends training to become cosmonauts.
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