On the night of the Oscar 2026 he also won a production in part Italian. At the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, Bolognese producer Valentina Merli retired the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film thanks to the film Two People Exchanging Saliva, directed by Natalie Musteata and Alexandre Singh. The prize was awarded ex aequo with The Singers. Merli was the only Italian candidate of the Academy Awards 2026 and the victory represented practically the only Italian presence in the ceremony.
Born in Bologna in 1973, Merli graduated in Law with a dissertation in comparative private law. The relationship with the cinema is developed very soon by attending the Cinema Lumière, historical hall of the Cineteca di Bologna. The turning point comes with an internship at Eurimages, the Council of Europe fund dedicated to supporting film co-productions. After a first period on the sets in Rome, in 1999 he moved to Paris, where he founded with producer Violeta Kreimer the company Misia Films, specialized in author cinema and international co-productions.
Over the years Merli has worked on projects that have circulated in major European festivals. Among these Lacci by Daniele Luchetti, chosen as the opening film of the Venice International Film Festival in 2020, and Combat d’amour en songe by Chilean director Raúl Ruiz. Its activity has concentrated mainly on independent European productions and co-productions between France, Italy and other countries, an area that in recent years has found increasing space also in North American festivals.
The short film that earned her the Oscar lasts about 35 minutes and is filmed in black and white. Two People Exchanging Saliva imagines a dystopian society in which the kiss is considered an illegal and punished act with death. The story is set in a large warehouse and follows the clandestine relationship between two protagonists who challenge the law to continue to meet. The main female role is played by Zar Amir Ebrahimi, an Iranian-born French actress already known for the films Holy Spider and Tatami, presented in the main international festivals.
Merli’s victory was not for granted, and reminds us that the Italian presence at the Oscars in recent years has been more frequent in technical categories or international co-productions rather than in the main categories. We talked about it here.
L’articolo Who is Valentina Merli, the only Italian Oscar winner proviene da IlNewyorkese.
