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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thedialog.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/25100725\/20260923T1400-MEDIA-NOTEBOOK-VATICAN-OSCAR-1826684-scaled.jpg\" "\\"DOLOMITE")
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In 1947, the Academy Awards began recognizing what were then called foreign language films on an annual basis. Over the decades since, movies from many nations have been submitted for voter consideration in a variety of categories.<\/p>\n
Perhaps unsurprisingly, no such picture ever came from the Vatican City State. That, however, is about to change.<\/p>\n
Following its Sept. 18-24 qualifying run at Los Angeles\u2019 Lumiere Music Hall, filmmakers Lia Beltrami and Ali Mahir Aksu\u2019s \u201cGreen Lava\u201d will compete for an Oscar nod as 2026\u2019s Best Documentary Short Film. Vatican Media, Radio Vatican and Vatican News all collaborated on the production of the roughly 40-minute movie.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\u201cGreen Lava,\u201d which premiered in Rome on Jan. 25 of last year, profiles Giacomo Mattivi, a 22-year-old Northern Italian man living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Set against the majestic background of the Dolomite mountains, the film seeks to bear witness to the courage and indefatigable energy with which Mattivi approaches his challenging situation.<\/p>\n
A university student, a soccer fan and the entrepreneurial manager of a small egg-selling business, Mattivi seems in no danger of becoming bored. Nor, apparently, does he allow being in a wheelchair and on a ventilator to slow him down or discourage him.<\/p>\n
In this vein, the picture\u2019s unusual title refers to Mattivi\u2019s belief \u2014 stated in the trailer \u2014 that, \u201cHumans must be live lava so as not to petrify.\u201d Despite having lost Giacomo\u2019s older brother Mattia to the same disease from which he suffers in 2022, Giacomo\u2019s parents, Stefano and Lara, are equally vigorous in their effort to promote acceptance and inclusion among the young.<\/p>\n
Oscar nominations will be announced on Jan. 21, 2027. The Academy Awards ceremony is scheduled to be held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood the following March 14.<\/p>\n