Oscar Candidate Filmed on a Smartphone

The Wrap reports that a contender for this year’s Oscars is “Olive,” made entirely on a smart phone, a Nokia N8.  It stars two-time Oscar nominee Gena Rowlands and its song, by Ben Lear (son of television producer Norman Lear) is on the short list for this year’s best song award.  It is a family-friendly, PG-rated story of a girl who visits three troubled adults and changes their lives without speaking.

The Wrap’s story has some fascinating details about what went on behind the scenes including an eyepiece from a dismantled 1940’s camera and dollies to movie the phone smoothly.  They also had to use hoods over their heads to keep out ambient light, just like the earliest days of movie-making.