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Colette wins the video game industry's first ever Oscar

The Oscar-winning Best Documentary Short was featured in Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond.

Donovan Erskine

April 26, 2021 7:55 AM

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The 93rd Academy Awards went down last night, as Oscars were awarded to the best films of the past year. One of the several awards given out at the show was Best Documentary Short, which went to Colette. Not only was this victory a major achievement for the filmmakers behind the documentary, but it was also a win for the gaming industry. Colette was featured exclusively within Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond, making it the first Oscar ever awarded to the video game industry.

Directed by Anthony Giacchino, Colette was featured in last year’s VR release Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond which was developed by Respawn Entertainment. The movie was also co-produced by Respawn in association with Oculus. The movie follows the real life story of Colette Marin-Catherine, a former French Resistance member that travels to Germany to visit the concentration camp where her brother was killed.

Colette was just one of the documentary shorts featured in Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond and is the first Oscar-winning film produced by a gaming studio. Anthony Giacchino spoke about Colette Marin-Catherine during his acceptance speech. “When we got nominated she reminded us that the power of documentary filmmaking ensured that her brother, Jean-Pierre, as she put it, was no longer lost in the night and fog of the Nazi concentration camp system.”

With video games getting more and more cinematic every year, taking home an Oscar at the Academy Awards is a major milestone for the industry. For more on VR, as well as other emerging stories from the gaming world, we’ve got you covered here on Shacknews.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_