Before receiving an Oscar nod for his debut narrative short film, Vincent Ren茅-Lortie was ready to quit filmmaking.
鈥淚t was a hard time for me. We just got out of the pandemic, and I wasn't making any money,鈥� says the Montreal-born director on a video call from Los Angeles.
鈥淚 was really having some serious conversations about changing my whole career and becoming a nurse.鈥�
Fortunately, the 30-year-old鈥檚 career path became much clearer when his film 鈥淚nvincible鈥� was nominated for an Oscar in the live-action short film category, set to be awarded at the star-studded ceremony in L.A. on Sunday.
A video posted on social media shows Ren茅-Lortie and his team screaming and jumping for joy in reaction to the nomination announcement in January.
鈥淲e were freaking out because we never expected to be here,鈥� he says.
鈥淚 don't know if I would still be a filmmaker today if it wasn't for the reception that came from this film.鈥�
鈥淚nvincible鈥� chronicles the final 48 hours of a 14-year-old boy鈥檚 life as he escapes a juvenile detention centre and wrestles his inner demons. The French-language film is inspired by true events involving Ren茅-Lortie鈥檚 childhood friend, Marc-Antoine Bernier, who died after driving a stolen car into a river.
It鈥檚 up against four other films, including 鈥淭he Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar鈥� by Wes Anderson and Steven Rales.
Ren茅-Lortie got the idea for the film five years ago, right after graduating from Concordia University鈥檚 Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. Still affected by Bernier鈥檚 death, he began having conversations with his late friend鈥檚 family to gain a better understanding of the tragedy.
鈥淥ne of the first things his dad told me was that there was a possibility that this could have been a suicide,鈥� he says.
鈥淭his information really hit me because I realized there were many things about my friend I didn鈥檛 understand, and I felt very far away from him. I started doing research for about a year and while doing so I felt closer to him. And this idea of doing a film started to grow inside of me.鈥�
Ren茅-Lortie says he wanted 鈥淚nvincible,鈥� which he wrote and directed, to be a film about someone 鈥渨ho feels unheard, who feels like he鈥檚 drowning, who feels like nobody鈥檚 listening to him.鈥�
Victoriaville, Que., native L茅okim Beaumier-L茅pine plays Bernier in his first lead acting role. Ren茅-Lortie says he chose someone with little experience because he wanted an 鈥渉onest and pure鈥� performance.
鈥淲hen L茅okim got into the audition room, I knew right away it was going to be him because he was very close to his emotions. In his own way, he could understand the real Marc.鈥�
Ren茅-Lortie describes the lead-up to the Academy Awards as 鈥渟urreal.鈥� He flew to L.A. in mid-February to partake in the 2024 Oscar nominees luncheon, where he met two of his biggest inspirations: Canadian filmmaker Celine Song and Steven Spielberg.
鈥淲ith Steven, we talked a lot about filming in Quebec, because he used to shoot there a lot and he loved working with people there,鈥� he says.
鈥淚 hope I can build some new relationships and potentially work with some people I鈥檝e met here.鈥�
Ren茅-Lortie has been in L.A. since then, meeting with agencies, managers and production companies, making connections he鈥檚 hoping might come in handy for his first feature film, 鈥淵ou Were Always An Island,鈥� which he鈥檚 currently working on. He describes it as 鈥渁 very grounded sci-fi film.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 very personal again, this time even more so (than 鈥業nvincible鈥�). It speaks about mental health, but more precisely about a lot of things I went through over the last couple years, especially during the pandemic.鈥�
Ren茅-Lortie says he and 鈥淚nvincible鈥� producer Samuel Caron will hit the red carpet with their partners, along with a dozen of the film's crew members.
鈥淚t's going to be fun. We're all going to be staying at the same Airbnb and dressing up. We鈥檙e going to have a glam team come do hair and makeup for us. I have to wake up at 5 a.m. to start getting ready.鈥�
Ren茅-Lortie will be wearing a suit by Italian brand Tagliatore and jewelry by Montreal boutique Coming Age.
The filmmaker is excited to represent his hometown at the awards bash.
鈥淚 really feel, for the first time in my life, a wave of love coming from Quebec and from Montreal,鈥� says Ren茅-Lortie.
鈥淲e were so young when we started to work on this film and I still feel really young and new to this world. It's crazy and also moving and beautiful to see people reaching out.鈥�
The 96th Academy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will air Sunday night on ABC and CTV.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 5, 2024.
Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press
