For the first time ever, a video game trailer has qualified for an Oscar
Honestly, for me the flip-flopping bears would've qualified it for an Oscar alone -- but this qualification is a lot more legitimate than just my feelings for animated bears.
Of course, Everything and its 10-minute gameplay trailer (up top) won't win a Best Picture Academy Award (aside from any kind of La La Land, Golden Globes mix-up joke someone feels inclined to make). It does, however, stand to compete for one in the animated short film category, thanks to its recent win of the jury prize for animation at the Vienna Shorts Festival.
Here's the jury's statement on the trailer:
The "Jury Prize - Animation" goes to a film, which beyond being entertaining has a strong poetic and philosophical theme. It serves a highly educational purpose, including an important political statement, that encourages us to let our egos dissolve and gain a new perspective on the world. The award goes to "Everything," by David OReilly.
Winning a festival prize is just one of many ways a short film can qualify for Oscar consideration -- which simply means it's eligible for nomination.
O'Reilly, a California-based filmmaker from Ireland, captured simple gameplay footage from Everything, then overlaid it with the voice of Alan Watts -- late British philosopher, writer and speaker known for interpreting Eastern philosophy -- to create a piece of existential art that not only expands your mind, but is also expanding the tradition of what qualifies for an Academy Award.
This expansion is another micro-erosion of the shorts dominance of Walt Disney, which has historically cleaned up the animated short film category. Now, if Everything gets nominated, we just have to hope a member of the voting committee is a fan of video games.
Everything is a game where you can play as literally everything. Flip-flop around the environment as a bear, or zoom in deep to squish around as a microorganism. It released on March 21 on PS4 and April 21 on PC and Mac.
H/T Gamasutra
Tina is the Games Editor for Mashable. She is a born and raised New Yorker. She received a degree in Media, Culture and Communication at New York University, where she also began her writing career. Tina has been editing and writing about video games for 8 years, working across various outlets including Complex Magazine and the former Gawker's Kotaku. She's an excellent first-person shooter player but favors stories above all. She also has the world's softest cat.
