Vatican Enters Oscar Race for First Time With 'Green Lava'

The Vatican will enter the Oscar race for the first time in the 97-year history of the Academy Awards.

Its contender is Green Lava, a 39-minute documentary short, according to Variety. The entry will be put forward in the Best Documentary Short Film category, the Oscar contest for short factual films.

The film centres on Giacomo Mattivi, a young Italian man living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a genetic condition that causes progressive muscle weakening. It is set in the Dolomites, the mountain range in northern Italy. The running time is 39 minutes.

Green Lava is directed by Lia Beltrami and Ali Aksu. It was produced by the production organisation Emotions to Generate Change in collaboration with Vatican News, Radio Vaticana and Vatican Media, Variety reported.

The qualifying run is organised as a week-long booking. The film is scheduled to screen 18-24 Sept. at the Lumiere Music Hall in Beverly Hills. That Los Angeles-area screening gives the film a public theatrical play in the market where Academy voters are based.

What makes this stand out is the newcomer. Studios, national film bodies and independent producers submit short documentaries every year. The Vatican has never done so before.

No shortlist or nomination has been decided. Submission makes a film eligible for consideration. Academy members later vote to narrow the field.