Scottish documentary makes Oscars long list

Arts Correspondent

Monday 15 October 2012

A Scottish documentary about ballet shoes has a chance of being nominated for an Oscar.

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Phil Miller

The Perfect Fit, directed by Tali Yankelevich, is one of eight current contenders for the documentary (short subject) award. The list will be whittled down to between three and five nominees.

Produced by the Scottish Documentary Institute (SDI), the nine-minute film looks at the life of a shoemaker, known as Patrick K, who makes the specialised footwear for ballet dancers.

The SDI say it "looks at professional ballet through the eyes of a shoemaker who pounds his soul out making each pair perfect, trying to ease the burden on the dancers' feet."It was produced as part of the body's Bridging the Gap programme, which enables young talent to break into the movie industry. The SDI is based at Edinburgh College of Art and Ms Yankelevich, who trained in ballet for many years, is a graduate of the art school.Producer Finlay Pretsell said: "This is brilliant news and a great recognition of how we're bringing Scottish documentaries to the world. It's a huge boost for Tali's career. We know this is not a nomination yet, but we're certainly keeping our fingers crossed."Ms Yankelevich, 26, from Brazil, added: "I always wanted to make a film on the subject but I felt the right approach never came to me. So many films are made about dance and ballet and I didn't want to make just one more."The film-maker explained that she came up with the idea for the film after reading an article about a pointe shoe factory in London."Reading that article was to me a complete shock, as I had danced in pointe shoes for so long and it never occurred to me where they actually came from," she said."At the end of the article I remember reading a quote from one of the cobbler's who said 'The dancer should feel the soul of the shoemaker in the shoes.' So then I knew there was a film here."The nominations for the 85th Academy Awards, or Oscars, will be announced on January 10 next year.

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Scottish documentary makes Oscars long list

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