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SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake Film Society announced Tuesday it received an Oscar nomination for its short film "Ninety-Five Senses."
The film society's MAST program produced the short film that is a "mentoring, collaborative animation project," the society said. It features the unique styles of six different animators mentored by industry professionals Jared and Jerusha Hess, who directed "Napoleon Dynamite" and "Nacho Libre."
The short film is described as "an ode to the body's five senses delivered by a man with little time left to enjoy them." The main character, Coy, is a folksy philosopher whose thoughts on modern life and the natural world reveal a troubling past and his soon-approaching end of life in a "bittersweet tale of regret and redemption."
According to MAST, "Ninety-Five Senses" was inspired by interview footage of death-row inmates awaiting lethal injection in Texas' Huntsville Unit, the busiest execution chamber in the United States.
"Ninety-Five Senses" was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, the academy announced Tuesday.
"All the staff, board and volunteers at Salt Lake Film Society are simply ecstatic about the Oscar nomination this morning for 'Ninety-Five Senses,'" said Tori A. Baker, CEO of the Salt Lake Film Society. "In addition to our mission to exhibit, create and preserve the cinematic experience at the (Broadway Centre Cinemas) and (Historic Tower Theatre), it emphasizes our commitment to new talent and fostering animation in Utah."
The project was aimed at mentoring post-graduate emerging filmmakers focusing on animation, the release said.
"Our vision was to turn talented animators into artist-entrepreneurs who could create projects in Utah, fostering an economic infrastructure to support animation production in the state. We achieved this through fellowship programs, labs, and the production of 'Ninety-Five Senses,'" Baker said.
"Ninety-Five Senses" has been screened at nearly 40 festivals around the world. Baker said theatrical screenings are crucial to highlighting "the extraordinary visuals of six different hand-drawn animation styles."
"This project was a true community project, bringing together local and international talent, who each gave their time and dedication to building a collaborative animated film," MAST co-founder Miles David Romney said. "The majority of the artists, filmmakers and crew are local to Utah. The goal of our MAST project is to create artist entrepreneurs and nurture the industry of animation in our state."
Salt Lake Film Society's MAST program is working on its next animation project and Baker said the program will continue to nurture growing filmmakers and animators.
