The Oscar-nominated creator of the animated short film WAR IS OVER is Sean Ono Lennon, the son of legendary rock legend John Lennon. His mother is no less well-known artist Yoko Ono, the film’s executive producer. Our corresponder reports from Los Angeles.
Sean Lennon co-wrote the short film ‘The war is over!’ with director Dave Mullins his screenplay, which is a heartbreaking story about a homing pigeon, an enemy in the war about two soldiers standing on each side and chess. The film was inspired by the music of John Lennon and Yoko Ono – their hit Happy Christmas (War is Over!) to be exact. The story takes place in an imagined World War II setting, where the bloody conflict in the middle, two military officers are playing a peculiar game of chess deep in the trenches. A persistent one carrier pigeon carries the moves of the chess pieces across the front line as the battle rages on is increasing. The two soldiers never met each other, but near the end of the game the they look at each other in the most intense way. Whichever one of them wins for the other one it can only means destruction. There are no real winners in wars.
At the pre-Oscar press screening, the creators are writer/director Dave Mullins, producer Brad Booker and writer Sean Ono Lennon also participated in the Theater of the Museum of Tolerance, Los Angeles, where some interesting facts about the film were shared during the panel discussion also about the background of its production.
“When Sean approached me, the first idea was to make a possible music video, Happy Christmas, but I told Sean that I can think more in narrative form, as a narrative director. I didn’t have to convince Sean, he was on board right away.” -recalls director Dave Mullins.
He and Brad Booker share their first Oscar nomination. “We had two one-and-a-half-hour mentoring sessions, practically the idea of the film was born in that time.”As he says, the game of chess is a war symbol, but Sean also brings a different perspective to the tactical game approach.”
“Chess is a universal language. – he believes. I like to play chess, as does my dad and my mother, who was a player, maybe not so much today. However, she has a famous art piece, ‘Play by Trust’, which is an all-white chessboard with all-white pieces. That was her message that ‘we will not fight each other if we see each other in the same’. There are somewhere a nice picture of my father and mother playing chess… -he added. So when it occurred to us the idea of chess, then I thought it would be a nice line and just quite connected to the to topic.”
The creators also referred the present day situation in Ukraine. As Brad Booker mentioned, countless wars are still taking place all over the world, groups of people are straining against each other.
The film will compete in best animated short films category on the 96th Oscar ceremony on March 10, 2024.
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