Apex Legends game developer, Respawn Entertainment, has been nominated for an Oscar for their documentary, Colette. Colette has been nominated under the Best Documentary Short Subject category.

Colette was created as part of the studio’s VR shooter Medal Of Honor: Above And Beyond. The documentary was co-produced by Respawn and Oculus as one of many short, live-action films for the game, and credits name Vince Zampella as a co-executive producer. Though Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond did not receive the overall nomination, the feat is impressive as pointed out by Respawn’s composer, Stephen Barton, on Twitter.

Colette tells the story of a 90-year-old Colette Marin-Catherine, one of the last surviving members of the French Resistance, who confronts her past by visiting the Nazi concentration camp in Germany where her brother, Jean-Pierre, was killed. She always refused to set foot in Germany. This changes when a young history student named Lucie enters Colette’s life as part of her research into the camp where Jean-Pierre died. The film follows Colette as she travels with Lucie to what remains of the forced labour camp near Nordhausen, Germany, in a journey of discovery that reopens old wounds and lessons of the past.

The number of short films eligible is usually far greater given the reduced runtimes, which generally makes shorts easier to create. Even though there were significantly fewer films created in 2020 compared to other years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Respawn still managed to create one of the five best shorts of the year in the eyes of the Academy.