Canadians Win Big at the Oscars!
3 Canadians win Oscars, 2 in animation!
On Sunday February 24th the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences hosted the 91st Academy Awards ceremony where three Canadians won awards for their work in animation and sound. Two of which are alumni of GTA colleges. We congratulate them on their well-deserved awards and for representing Canadians in such an incredible way at the Oscars.
Domee Shi is a Sheridan Bachelor of Animation graduate. She graciously accepted her award for her best Animated Short film ‘Bao’ Sunday night with an insightful message: “To all of the nerdy girls out there who hide behind their sketchbooks — don’t be afraid to tell your stories to the world,” ‘Bao’ is Pixar’s first short film directed by a female.
Shi decided to attend Sheridan College to hone her skills after developing an interest in animation while in high school. Since graduating in 2011, Shi has worked on films including Inside Out, The Good Dinosaur and Incredibles 2. Shi is reportedly working on her first feature film at Pixar.
Seneca College graduate Zacary Campbell was awarded an Oscar for his work on visual effects on Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which won Best Animated Feature Film. Campbell was lead compositor for the film, where he he created templates for other compositors and assisted other artists. The film’s visuals gained much praise from audiences for the unique, psychedelic animation style.
“Seneca helped me to realize what I wanted to do for a living,” said Campbell in a news release issued by Seneca College. “Before Seneca, I never dreamed that I would have a career that allowed me to travel around the world and work on movies. Winning this award is not only an honour, it also validates that all of my 50-hour work weeks have paid off.”
Canadian sound engineer Paul Massey won an Oscar for best sound-mixing for his work on the musical biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. Massey won the award alongside co-workers Tim Cavagin and John Casali in the best sound-mixing category. Massey thanked the film’s producers, sound crew and members of rock band Queen, who are the subject of the film, in his acceptance speech.
“A massive shout-out to Brian May and Roger Taylor,” Massey said onstage. “Thank you so much for your music and for your collaboration and your support.” This is Massey’s eighth Oscar nomination.
These outstanding creators bring pride to the Canadian film scene. The SchoolFinder Group is proud to help and support students make their dreams come true.
If you're interested in winning your own Oscar in animation like Domee or Zacary, check out our Seneca College and Sheridan college profiles.
To find out more about our Oscar winners, click here