18 September 2023
Electra, a short animated film by Daria Kashcheeva, has received the Short Cuts Award for Best Film at 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. The jury praised the film's visceral and infinite texture, which "leads us down a contorted rabbit hole with thematic and visual prowess". This success follows its world premiere at La Cinéf during the Cannes Film Festival and marks a great start of the Oscar season for the film.
The Short Cuts Award for Best Film at Toronto International Film Festival was awarded to Electra, a visually stunning exploration of childhood memories by acclaimed director Daria Kashcheeva. The film reimagines Electra's 10th birthday, mixing memories with imagination and hidden dreams. Isolated in her fantasy world full of made-up busty dolls, plastic men’s body parts, juicy strawberries and dentist tools, she builds up her own relationships with her body and sexuality.
The jury stated, that “singular and accomplished, this sickly sweet nightmare of a film packs a mighty final punch. Visceral and infinitely textured, it leads us down a contorted rabbit hole with thematic and visual prowess. With great pleasure, the jury presents the Short Cuts Award for Best Short Film to Electra, directed by Daria Kashcheeva. Electra resonates with under-the-skin discomfort long after the film is over.”
Thanks to this win, the film also officially qualified for the Oscar race in the Animated Short Film category and may follow the same path as Kashcheeva's previous film, Daughter, which received the Academy Award nomination in 2020. The film was produced by Martin Vandas and Zuzana Křivková of Czech outlet MAUR film in co-production with Prague's FAMU, Papy3D Productions from France and Slovakia's Artichoke. The Czech Film Fund supported the film in both development and production, by the total of 155 240 EUR. World sales and festivals are handled by Miyu Distribution.
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