The 3D animated short was directed by students at Paris-based visual communication school GOBELINS, l’à©cole de l’image.

OKTAPODI, a 3D animated short film directed by six students at Paris-based visual communication school Gobelins, l’à©cole de l’image, was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Animated Short Film. This is the first time that an animated short produced and created by students at Gobelins has been nominated for an Oscar.

The film was directed in 2007 by Julien Bocabeille, Franà§ois-Xavier Chanioux, Olivier Delabarre, Thierry Marchand, Quentin Marmier and Emud Mokhberi, all students in the final, third year of the animation filmmaking course at Gobelins.

The brilliantly colorful OKTAPODI features two lovstruck octopi in a madcap escape from the grasp of a restaurant cook in a Greek village. In this comical and charming tale of true love, the tentacled couple face insurmountable odds to reunite and stay together.

OKTAPODI has already received numerous awards from some of the most prestigious animation festivals around the world:

• SIGGRAPH Asia 2008 ‘ Jury Award
• SIGGRAPH Los Angeles 2008 ‘ Best of Show and Audience Prize
• Hiroshima 2008 ‘ Special International Jury Prize
• Annecy 2008 ‘ Canal+ Family Award
• Anima Mundi ‘ Rio de Janeiro 2008 ‘ Best Student Film and Audience Prize
• FICCI BAF 2008 ‘ India ‘ Best Student Animated Short Film
• Imagina ‘ Monaco 2008 ‘ Best Animation Award

OKTAPODI is one of five films selected in the category of Best Animated Short Film. Distributed by Premium Films, OKTAPODI is in competition with LA MAISON EN PETITS CUBES (Robot Communications), LAVATORY ‘ LOVESTORY (Melnitsa Animation Studio), PRESTO (Pixar) and THIS WAY UP (Nexus).

The directors of OKTAPODI will participate in AWN’s Oscar Showcase Tour in San Francisco on February 12-13 and in Los Angeles on February 17-21 before attending the Academy Awards ceremony. The tour consists of screening and press events sponsored by Animation World Network (www.awn.com), the animation industry’s leading website and the largest animation-related publishing group on the Internet.

About Gobelins
Gobelins, l’à©cole de l’image (www.gobelins.fr) is one of twelve schools affiliated with the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIP). A major player in the field of learning programs dedicated to visual communication ‘ animated films, multimedia applications and content, graphic communication and printing, and photography, as well as video and broadcast technology ‘ Gobelins has a student body of more than 700 students and apprentices and 1200 trainees in the adult training courses. For more than 40 years, Gobelins has been a privileged partner of companies and studios involved in the production of still and animated images, in France and around the world.