Karishma Dev Dube’s directorial ‘Bittu’ has been shortlisted for the Live Action Short Film Category for the 93rd Academy Awards. Meanwhile, India’s official Oscar entry ‘Jallikattu’ failed to make it to the International Feature Film shortlist.
The film has been presented by Ekta Kapoor, Guneet Monga and Tahira Kashyap under their ‘Indian Women Rising’ initiative.
Based on a true story, Bittu tells the tale of a heartwarming friendship between two school-going friends.
Here are the shortlisted names in the Live Action Short Film category for Oscars 2021:
Bittu
Da Yie
Feeling Through
The Human Voice
The Kicksled Choir
The Letter Room
The Present
Two Distant Strangers
The Van
White Eye
Earlier today, Guneet Monga, Tahira Kashyap and Ekta Kapoor who have backed Bittu under their cinema collective Indian Women Rising couldn’t keep up their excitement.
Guneet Monga too expressed her excitement on social media. “It’s 4.30am in India… am tossing & turning, stress eating and texting my IWR girls thru the night and here we are !! BITTU is now shortlisted for the 93rd Academy Awards. @indianwomenrising‘s first film BITTU directed by @k.devdube … here we come 💫 Let’s do this @ektarkapoor @tahirakashyap @ruchikaakapoor @maryelista @shredevdube. So so grateful for BITTU and our incredible team… ♥️ Say a little prayer and wish us luck for the next round of nominations 💫” the filmmaker wrote on Instagram.
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Sharing the news from the Oscars’ Twitter handle on Instagram, Tahira wrote, “#bittu is in the top 10 for the 93rd Academy Awards! Can’t keep calm as this is our first project under @indianwomenrising. This one is so special @k.devdube may you shine. congratulations @shredevdube @maryelista you all are rockstars. @ektarkapoor @guneetmonga @ruchikaakapoor we so have our heart in the right place! Can’t wait to hug you. Pls continue supporting this short film with a big heart.”
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Ekta also shared a post about how excited she was about the new development.
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The second round of voting begins on March 5 that would decide the top 5 films across the globe, making it to the final nominations to be announced on March 15.