Electroleague’s film “War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko” has been shortlisted for the 96th Academy Awards.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Dec. 21 announced shortlists in 10 categories for the next Academy Awards: Documentary Feature Film, Documentary Short Film, International Feature Film, Makeup and Hairstyling, Music (Original Score), Music (Original Song), Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film, Sound and Visual Effects.
Out of 93 films that qualified, 15 films will advance in the Animated Short Film category. Members of the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.
“War Is Over!” is an 11-minute short inspired by John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s 52-year-old classic song “Happy Xmas (War Is Over).” The film is written and directed by 20-year Pixar alum and Oscar nominee Dave Mullins and produced by Golden Globe nominee Brad Booker. Sean Ono Lennon and Yoko Ono serve as executive producers. Animation was produced by Peter Jackson’s Wētā FX using Epic Games’ Unreal Engine. The score was composed by 15-time Oscar nominee Thomas Newman.
Mullins thanked the Academy and said, “We are humbled by all the love and support.”
Set in an alternate World War I reality where a senseless war rages on, two soldiers on opposite sides of the conflict play a game of chess. A heroic carrier pigeon delivers the soldiers’ chess moves over the battlefield as the fighting escalates. Neither soldier knows his opponent as the game and the war build to their climatic final move. Whoever wins the game, one thing is for certain: there are no winners in war.
“Happy Xmas (War Is Over),” recorded by Lennon, Ono, the Plastic Ono Band and the Harlem Community Choir, was released in the U.S. on Dec. 1, 1971. Originally a protest song against the Vietnam War, it has since become a Christmas standard, frequently recorded by other artists.
To see the “War Is Over!” trailer, go to: www.electroleague.com/film