Griffith Film School PhD Student, Lachlan Pendragon has secured an Academy Award nomination in the Short Film (Animated) category for his highly creative and hilarious film, An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It.
This follows his win of a prestigious Gold Student Academy Award. In a ceremony held in Los Angeles, Lachlan proudly accepted the award and now joins the best film makers in the world with his talent is being recognised across the globe.
Starting on the film festival circuit last year, the rise to prominence of this small, quirky film has been a slow burn as it has generated praise and acclaim from some of the worlds top film and animation festivals.
Lachlan started his animation journey at the Griffith Film School as an under-graduate, before doing Honours, and is currently doing his PhD. The film is Lachlan’s PhD film and recently being awarded Australia’s Best Short Film at the Melbourne International Film Festival, the CILECT Prize for best Animation as well as win in Boston, Cannes, Amsterdam, London and other animation and short film festivals.
Ostrich as it is affectionally been called among those at Griffith is a truly meta experience, one which focuses on a telemarketer who starts questioning his reality when he runs into a talking Ostrich.
Lachlan said he adores the process of stop motion animation and has been thrilled to work in the craft and produce a film that resonates with so many people.
“I wanted the audience to be very conscious that the film was made by hand and that is was completely fabricated, but also have a very focused story that people could follow” Lachlan said.
“I was very interested in giving the audience a behind the scenes look as part of the finished product as it is my way of inviting the audience to look over the animators shoulder and enjoy the story from that perspective.”
The film is 15 minutes of delightful, wacky and endearing storytelling and truly showcases the talent and ideas coming out of Griffith Film School.
Director of the Griffith Film School, Professor Herman Van Eyken said that the film explores the unique relationship between reflexivity and illusionism in stop motion animated films.
“It is a quirky, very meta film that has so much heart, creativity and really covers a lot of concepts in a short amount of time,” Professor Van Eyken said.
“It is an excellent example of the talented young film makers that we are lucky to have at Griffith Film School, and the recognition this film is getting across the world is very well deserved.”
The film has recently been awarded the prestigious overall CILECT Prize for Animation as well as CAPA Best Fillm 2022 (Animation) for the CILECT Asia Pacific Association (CAPA) and best Australian Short Film at the Melbourne International Film Festival.
You can watch a trailer of the move here.
Below is a list of the films awards and nominations:
95th Academy Awards:
Nomination. Winners announced at the 2023 Oscars ceremony held by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on 13 March 2023.
Melbourne International Film Festival:
Winner: Best Australian Short Film
Gold Coast Film Festival:
SIPFest: Winner: Best Australian. Short Film & Best Screenplay
Animation Dingle 2022 Awards:
Winner: Best Stop Motion sponsored by Aardman Animation
Cannes Indie Shorts Awards:
Winner
Boston Independent Film Awards:
Winner
Amsterdam Short Film Festival:
Winner
London Indie Short Festival:
Winner
Student Academy Awards:
Winner
Spokane International Film Festival:
Selected
Athens International Film & Video Festival:
Selected
RiverRun International Film Festival:
Selected
Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Films:
Selected
Animafest Zagreb:
Selected
Washington Film Awards:
Semi-Finalist
Qld XR Festival:
Selected
Annecy Animation Festival:
Selected
Student BAFTA Awards:
Selected
Budapest Film Festival:
Selected
European Short Film Festival:
Selected
Dublin World Film Festival:
Semi-Finalist
Hollywood ShortFest:
Selected
West End Film Festival:
Finalist
Stockholme Short Festival:
Semi-finalist
Ottawa International Animation Festival:
Selected: World Student Panorama
Edinburgh Short Film Festival:
Selected
Brisbane International Film Festival:
Selected
International Student Film & Video Festival of Beijing Film Academy (ISFVF)
Selected
Filmschoolfest Munich
Selected
ATOM Awards
Selected
Festival International Court du Metrage (Lille)
Invited
Heart of Gold Film Festival
Selected
International Short Film Festival Berlin (INTERFILM)
Selected