Korean Animator Becomes an Oscar for 2nd Year Running

Korean animator Erick Oh has been shortlisted for an Academy Award for the second year running with his latest short animated film Namoo. The film was one of 15 titles shortlisted for the Best Animated Short category of next year’s 94th Academy Awards.

Last year, Oh was shortlisted for the first time with his acclaimed short film Opera (2020). Earlier this year, he made history when Opera went on to become the first Korean film among the final nominees in the Best Animated Short category at the Academy Awards, though it failed to win the category.

Oh’s latest work is a VR film that concerns a man’s journey through life, from birth to death, beside a tree (‘namoo’ in Korean) which collects his memories. Namoo had its world premiere earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival and went onto screen at several prestigious events, including the Annecy International Animated Film Festival and the Ottawa International Animation Festival.

Meanwhile, this year’s Korean entry to the Best International Film category, Ryoo Seungwan’s hit action film Escape from Mogadishu, failed to make the shortlist for the category. Only two films from Korea have been shortlisted for the prize, Lee Changdong’s Burning (2018) and Bong Joonho’s Parasite (2019), which was the first Korean entry to make it to the final nominees. Parasite also became the first Korean film to win the category, one of four historic Oscars it picked up at the 92 Academy Awards last year.

The final nominees for the 94th Academy Awards will be revealed on February 9, and the ceremony will take place on March 27.