Out of all the awards shows the Oscars remain the pinnacle in the entertainment industry.
That's why Cardiff couple Les Mills and Joanna Quinn can't wait to rub shoulders with the stars as they grace the red carpet at the glamorous ceremony next month.
They are still reeling from the shock of learning that the short film they describe as a "labour of love" has been shortlisted in the Best Animated Short Film category.
Affairs of the Art tells the story of Welsh factory worker Beryl. It took six years to create and was made using more than 24,000 drawings.
Les wrote and produced the film while Joanna is the brilliance behind the majority of those drawings and it was mainly made at their studio in Cardiff's Chapter Arts Centre with backing from the National Film Board of Canada.
"We've made three other Beryl films before this one," Les, from Canton, said. "All of them were made in Wales and they were made with Welsh money so it's not a new character but she's a well-loved character.
"She's the epitome of a Welsh working-class woman really and we've always kept that kind of quality to her."
And it has already had huge success at the film festivals where it has been screened since February 2021, winning 26 international awards including prizes at the Clemont Ferrand International Short Film Festival and the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
Despite this success Les and Joanna were convinced they were not going to receive the Oscar nod when they watched the live stream from LA earlier this week.
Joanna said: "When I got up in the morning I was convinced that it would not get nominated. Films are on a long list and then they are voted upon so the shortlist can be drawn up.
"Because the name of the film started with an A we knew that it would high up the list if we were going to get the nomination. So we knew from the first vowel it was us but we couldn't believe it.
"Making animated film is really, really hard work and everything gets pushed to one side. It has been a real labour of love for us, and the coronavirus pandemic make everything so much harder, but we are so happy that it has been recognised in this way.
"These films take forever and cost a lot of money. But it is not about the money – we do it because we are passionate about it. We have a small team who are fantastic and it was six years of intensive work in the studio so it is wonderful for it to be recognised in this way."
The couple's love affair with animation dates back to 1986 when fine art student Les met Joanna who was studying graphics at university in London.
Joanna's animated graduation project, called Girls Night Out, was critically-acclaimed and so good it was selected to be shown at a prestigious animation festival in Annecy, France.
"It went on to win three prizes overall," said Joanna. "But it was more than winning – I was hooked. I loved the experience, loved the people, and the film got a lot of publicity and was picked up by Channel 4 and S4C."
The couple created Beryl Productions, specialising in hand-drawn character animation, and have enjoyed success with their short films and commercials that are shown around the world.
Commercials for Whiskas cat food and Charmin toilet paper in America have helped them be able to fund their passion for short-film animation.
"It was purr-fect," laughs Les. "We made more than 130 television adverts in the States and have had big campaigns in the UK and Germany.
"One time we went to visit New York at Christmas and there was this big stunt in Times Square involving the Charmin toilet paper company. There is a whole issue with lack of public toilets in the area so they had taken out a whole floor of an office building and put in 12 toilets with escalators up to it.
"We went to investigate and our drawings were up on the walls. We were telling people that we were a couple from Cardiff, Wales, and those were our drawings but they all thought we were mad."
It is not the first time that Joanna and Les have received Oscar recognition as their film Wife of Bath was also nominated and they got to attend in 1998.
Joanna said: "It was a very surreal experience but I am looking forward to going again. We were sitting right up near the front and I was sitting next to Matt Damon's mum.
"He kept winning so was leaning over all the time to hug her. It was quite an experience. One of the things that struck me is that there aren't actually that many famous people there. The majority are people who work behind the camera and in the background.
"I can't wait to go back. We have ordered our tickets and it would be really special if we were able to put Wales on the map.
"We're so excited to just be nominated because that's just brilliant. But someone said to me: 'Imagine bringing that Oscar back to Wales' and I hadn't actually thought about that and I said: 'Oh my God – wouldn't that just be brilliant?'"
The 94th Oscars are set to take place on Sunday, March 27.
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