“I had the best team”: Czech set decorator gets Oscar nomination for Nosferatu
Although neither of the two Czech films that were shortlisted for this year's Oscars—the historical drama Waves nor the short film The Countryman—received a nomination, the Oscar statuette may still be headed to Czechia this year. Czech set decorator Beatrice Brentnerová is nominated in the set design category for her work on Nosferatu and spoke to Czech Radio about her stylistic choices.
Robert Eggers’ latest film, Nosferatu, has been widely celebrated since its release. The praise has been particularly welcome in Czechia, where much of the film was shot at locations such as Pernštejn Castle and the Barrandov studios. That meant that some Czechs were also able to work on the film, such as set decorator Beatrice Brentnerová, who was nominated for an Oscar in the set design category.
In an interview with Czech Radio, the set decorator revealed her reaction upon hearing the news:
"I'm happy, of course, and I would just like to say that I'm very happy, especially for the team that worked with me on this. I had the best team I could have had. They're the main reason I'm so happy it turned out this way."
Brentnerová further discussed how involved she was in the set design process itself:
"I practically did everything, both indoors and outdoors. That means the furniture, the lamps, the fabrics, the carpets, and all the little details you see in the decor. Probably the biggest challenge was the lamps. At the time the film is based—1838, if we are being very precise—we were at the cusp between kerosene lamps and oil lamps. So it was very complicated to even obtain these lamps and make them suitable for filming. That was probably the biggest challenge."
With much of the filming of Nosferatu taking place in Czechia, Brentnerová firmly hopes that the success of the film and its nominations could attract other big films to the country.
"I think the savoir-faire here is really great. First of all, the filmmaking tradition is quite strong here. And secondly, there are craftsmen who can make and organize incredible things, paint, sew, and arrange sets."
Whether Brentner will actually win the statuette will be revealed at the Oscars on 2 March. Neither of the two Czech films—Waves, a dramatic tale set at Czechoslovak radio during the time of the Prague Spring, nor Krajan (“The Countryman”), a short film about a New Year's Eve in 1944—managed to advance from the broader nominations.
The French Spanish-language musical Emilia Pérez received the most nominations for this year's Oscars. It tells the story of a drug kingpin with a transgender identity. It has thirteen nominations, a record for a film not in English. The musical The Witch and the biographical drama The Brutalist also have ten nominations each.
