Oscar-Nominated Filmmaker Adds a Unique Flavor to Hollywood
Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Alison McAlpine took advantage of her recent trip to Los Angeles for the Oscar Luncheon to promote her latest work. The Montreal-based director, known for perfectly a strangeness, engaged in a series of shoots during her visit earlier this month.
In a unique collaboration, McAlpine brought a donkey along for shoots at the Griffith Observatory and the iconic Hollywood sign. The project aims to underscore the importance of independent cinema. In a mini-video piece, the donkey is first heard off-camera and then appears below the Hollywood sign, which has been affixed with the message: “Hollywood Needs Strangeness.”
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‘Perfectly a strangeness’
The film, perfectly a strangeness, was made independently and was recently acquired by the Criterion Channel, which plans to stream it starting in March. This 15-minute film unfolds without dialogue, focusing instead on its visual storytelling.
Although not explicitly mentioned in the film, McAlpine revealed that it was shot in the Atacama Desert of Northern Chile, an area noted for its striking telescopes. During a previous project in the region, she observed groups of donkeys roaming, which may have inspired this unique collaboration.
‘Perfectly a strangeness’
Funded by an Indie arts council, perfectly a strangeness made its premiere during official competition at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. The film went on to feature at the Toronto International Film Festival, IDFA, and over 80 international film festivals, securing more than 20 awards globally. It has recently earned a nomination for Best Documentary Short at the 98th Academy Awards.
View the mini-video filmed beneath the Hollywood sign here:
