The Dutch film I’m Not A Robot was awarded the Oscar for best short film at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday. Director Victoria Warmerdam is delighted.
“This means so much to us, especially since no Dutch people have been nominated in this category since the sixties. So we were already super proud that we are here at all,” Warmedam and her partner and producer, Trent, told ANP after the ceremony. “To then also win, that is really unreal.”
They hope this win will give the Dutch film industry a boost. “I think this is good for our entire industry. And that is great because we have a lot of talented filmmakers in the Netherlands. This gives hope that our films can reach a wide audience.”
Actor Henry van Loon told RTL Nieuws that it is “unbelievable” to suddenly have been in an Oscar-winning film. “This is something you never experience; this is really a holy-shit-what-the-fuck-moment,” he said. “I’m a little bit in shock.” The comedian planned to go to Los Angeles for the ceremony, but that fell through at the last minute. So he watched the Oscars in Amsterdam with a group of friends and film fans.
The Dutch animation Wander to Wonder by director Nina Gantz was also in the running for an Oscar in the best animated short category, but that award went to In the Shadow of Cypress.
The biggest winner of the Oscars this year was the film Anora. The tragicomedy by director Sean Baker won five Oscars – best film, direction, screenplay, editing, and actress. Anora is about a young stripper from Brooklyn who marries the son of a Russian oligarch.
