Vatican's First-Ever Oscar Submission Lands Hollywood Backers

The Vatican has submitted a film for Oscar consideration for the first time in the Academy's 97-year history, and the 39-minute documentary short "Green Lava" has now picked up Hollywood backing to go with the milestone.

Hollywood Ventures Group, the production outfit and consultancy co-founded by former Amazon MGM Studios executive Glenn S. Gainor and industry veteran Sandy Climan, has boarded the film. Gainor, Climan, Nelly Kim and Nabeel Laher join John Shufeldt MD as executive producers. The credits grow heavier by the week.

What is the film actually about?

Directed by Lia Beltrami and Ali Aksu, "Green Lava" follows Giacomo Mattivi, a young Italian man living with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, "as he faces life without his brother Mattia who has just succumbed to Duchenne," per the film's synopsis. Shot against the backdrop of the Dolomites and produced in collaboration with the Vatican, the short documents Giacomo as he "challenges the limitations imposed by his condition and finds strength in his community and in the natural world that surrounds him."

Does the Vatican actually submit it?

Not in the technical sense — and here the mechanics matter. As Variety reported exclusively in September, "Green Lava" is the first film the Vatican has submitted for Oscar consideration in 97 years of Academy history. Yet the film will not formally represent the Vatican in the race, because short films, unlike the international feature category, require no official submission or endorsement from a national government or country-specific committee. The distinction is historical, not procedural. Anyone can qualify. The Holy See simply never had before.

How did it qualify?

"Green Lava" completed its Oscar-qualifying theatrical run by screening Sept. 18-24 at the Lumiere Music Hall in Beverly Hills — a seven-day window that satisfies the Academy's short-documentary qualifying standards.

What do the new partners say?

"'Green Lava' is a moving testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the extraordinary power of hope," Gainor, Climan, Kim and Laher said in a joint statement. "Lia and Ali have crafted a remarkable film that deserves to be seen by audiences around the world."

Beltrami, who also produces, invoked scripture in welcoming the deal. "I believe this valuable collaboration with Hollywood Ventures Group will help 'widen the tent,' making Giacomo's message accessible to the world," she said, calling the film "a hymn to life and an invitation to live every moment to the fullest."

Co-director Aksu offered the sharper read. "Giacomo lives every day close to a line most of us spend our lives avoiding, and that closeness has made him more alive, not less," he said. "He is funny, stubborn, curious and fiercely present."

Who produces, and what changes in the race?

Beltrami's company, Emotions to Generate Change, produced the film with Vatican News, Radio Vaticana and Vatican Media, alongside Los Angeles-based producers David Dubinsky and Dominique Appleby. HVG will act "as a strategic producing partner, leveraging our global network to elevate the film's visibility, expand its reach, and explore potential distribution opportunities," per a company rep.

The film joins HVG's international slate, which includes the upcoming Casablanca-set thriller "The Final Bet." Gainor previously held senior roles at Amazon MGM Studios and Sony's Screen Gems; Climan served as a senior executive at CAA, Universal Studios and MGM. For a short documentary, that is considerable campaign firepower.