Vancouver filmmaking pair nominated for Oscar with short animation Animal Behaviour

It's an exciting day for two local Vancouver animators who landed an 2019 Academy Award nomination on Tuesday morning.

Alison Snowden and David Fine are in the running for an Oscar with Animal Behaviour, a comedic short animation about five animals who meet to discuss their life problems in group therapy sessions.

"I screamed [when we found out]," said Snowden, still running on the adrenaline of the news.

"There's so much build-up beforehand."

Animal Behaviour was nominated inthe best animated short film category.

Finding out with everyone else

The pair barely slept the night before the announcement, Fine said, and got up before sunrise to watch the Oscar nomination announcements live with no idea if they were in or not.

"[We found out] live as it happens from the academy just like everybody else," he told Stephen Quinn, host of CBC's The Early Edition, just an hour after learning of their nomination.

"There's no secret 'we know something we're not telling you' or anything, you just have to watch it."

Animal Behaviour, a National Film Board of Canada animation, was produced from the filmmakers' home studio in Vancouver and voiced by local actors.

"The whole cast is Vancouver-based. We're very proud of the cast," Fine said.

Animal Behaviour: Clip #1

6 years ago

Duration 0:30

A look at Alison Snowden and David Fine's new short film.

'It's nerve-racking'

This is not Snowden and Fine's first run with the Oscars. They've been nominated three times in the past and won an Oscar for best short animation in 1993 for Bob's Birthday.

But this time, things are a little different.

"Twenty years ago or so when Bob's Birthday was nominated, we found out by fax machine or something or carrier pigeon," Fine said, laughing.

Animal Behaviour: Clip #3

6 years ago

Duration 0:13

A look at Alison Snowden and David Fine's new short film.

For now, it's a waiting game until the Oscars are unveiled on Feb. 24.

"You really don't know until the moment the envelope is opened, it's nerve-racking," said Fine.

Several other Canadian filmmakers were also nominated, including the Pixar production Bao by Toronto-raised Domee Shi in the same short animation category.