Oscars 2012: Isle of Man represented at Oscar ceremony

Isle of Man Film will be represented at the Oscar ceremony this weekend after receiving a nomination in the Best Animation category.

Chico and Rita is the 91st project for Isle of Man Film but the first to receive an Oscar nomination.

During the making of the film, 10 animators from the island were employed for about 18 months.

Film company manager Hilary Dugdale said: "To have an Oscar nomination on their CVs' is amazing."

She added: "All the artists were fully trained up in the art of colouring, they actually worked on every single frame to make sure this film looked perfect in every single way- so they are right to have a sense of pride and sense of ownership.

'David and Goliath'

"It was one of the conditions that we laid down to the producers that we have Manx people involved in making the film- we asked them to open an Isle of Man studio and employ a minimum of 10 people."

The young artists received full training and worked as colourists in collaboration with studios based in Hungary, Spain and the Philippines.

The story of Chico and Rita is set against the backdrop of Havana, New York City, Las Vegas, Hollywood and Paris in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

The film's main rival in the Oscar category is Rango, produced by Graham King and Directed by Gore Verbinski.

The budget for Rango, according to Ms Dugdale, was in the region of $135m whereas the budget for Chico and Rita came in at about $7m.

"It's like David and Goliath but we are quietly confident," continued Ms Dugdale.

The awards will be presented by Billy Crystal and take place at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday.