For Kendrick Lamar’s “We Cry Together” short film, it was crucial that the visuals capture the vulnerability and toxicity of a relationship in an intimate space.
“It challenged me to actually live in what I was writing, to really be there and be present with Taylor. [Paige]”, said Lamar. “And I remember we were going back and forth and we felt like, fuck, I understand this character even more because I evoke the energy and the passion because he’s alive and direct.”
Directed by Free, Lamar and Jake Schreier, “We Cry Together” follows Lamar in a heated argument with his partner, played by “Zola” star Taylour Paige. The video features the theatrical song from his fifth album, “Mr. Morale and the Big Steps. The immersive experience was shot in one take with live vocal tracks.
“We Cry Together” is one of many films hoping to find love for best live-action short at the upcoming Oscars. For a film to be eligible in one of the three short film categories, which also include animation and documentary, a film must not exceed 40 minutes. The eligibility window is different from the general categories, running from October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022.
“When we embarked on this project, Kendrick told me he wanted the piece to be thick and the piece to be intense,” Free explained. “He really wanted to talk about things that we as a society are a bit hesitant about.”
“So in writing, I’m like, ‘OK, how can I make this personal, but also hold up a mirror as a collective concept, rather than just a personal concept,'” Lamar said. “I wanted to bring this drama because at the end of the day, whether we like it or not – the good, the bad and the ugly, the pros and cons – that’s what makes everything evolve.”
On the set of “We Cry Together,” Free explained that they wanted to convey “the frustration of life itself already painting the room” while maintaining a “youthful and lighthearted” feel to the couple’s apartment.
“You enter into a relationship, and it’s like you have to mix the two worlds together,” he said. “She wants the humidifier, you want a picture of a barber in the house. But you’re mixing that shit up, you know what I mean? So it looked like this, it looked like this – a mix of two personalities that looked alike.
“At the end of the day, what matters is the people we can really identify with. Not just from our culture, but from cultures around the world,” Lamar added. “So the environment plays a huge role, and that’s something that we really wanted to bring to life with the script. It was just as important as the individuals who were throwing up the insults.
For Lamar, the creative collaboration and filmmaking process saying it “gave me more freedom, as a person. To be able to run into my fear and say the things I want to say and do it in a way artistic – it allowed me to live my truth even more deeply.
In recent years, great talents such as Matthew A. Cherry, the late Kobe Bryant and more recently Riz Ahmed, have found their way to an Oscar stage for their short films. Other major films in the live-action discussion include Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well” (also up for Best Original Song for “Carolina” from “Where the Crawdads Sing”) and “38 at the Garden” by Oscar-winning Travon Free. (“Two Distant Strangers”). Other submissions include “Ball & Vase” (dir. Dave Baram), “Life Rendered” (dir. Emma Needell), “Miso” (dir. Kelly Walker), “Sideral” (dir. Carlos Segundo), “Evoke (dir. Aaron M. Abelto), “Moshari” (dir. Nuhash Humayun and executive produced by Riz Ahmed and Jordan Peele), “Remembering” (dir. Elijah Allan-Blitz) and “Exposure” (dir. Holly Morris) .
Oscar screening voting takes place from December 12-15, before the 10 films that advance to the nomination vote are named on December 21. Oscar nominations will be announced on January 24.
See the latest movie predictions, across all 23 categories, in one place on Variety Oscar Collective.
To see the 2022-2023 Awards Season Schedule for all key dates and deadlines.