This French short film was awarded the 2026 Oscars

Two people exchanging saliva, an astonishing dystopian fiction produced by the French, concluded its awards season in style.

The filmmaker duo Natalie Musteata and Alexandre Singh saved France’s honor with their live-action dystopian fiction, Two people exchanging saliva. This film produced by a French company, Misia Films, won the Oscar for best short film last night in Los Angeles, after failing at the Césars against Death of an actor.

The two authors, who also operate in the world of contemporary art, work mainly on American soil. Natalie Musteata, an American of Romanian origin, is a writer, director, curator and curator. Alexandre Singh born in Bordeaux, is a Franco-English of Indian origin. He lives in New York. In receiving this prize, tied with The Singersthe two directors underlined the international (and queer) dimension of their creation, supported by two powerful godmothers (Julianne Moore and Isabelle Huppert) and an equally cosmopolitan cast.

Two people exchanging saliva is filmed in beautiful black and white within the imposing Galeries Lafayette in Paris. We follow the journey of a young, resourceful store employee (Luàna Bajrami) who will gradually attract the favor of a rich customer (Zahra Amir Ebrahimi). If the world described seems to be more or less our own, we very quickly detect a strangeness in the behavior between individuals, a flaw on the surface of a dissonant reality.

The men and women here respond to surnames that are not exactly bright: Malaise, Angina, Chagrin or even Scam. They slap each other in the face all day long with phlegm and passivity. These acts of violence turn out to be a “simple” bargaining chip explaining the swelling on the faces.

We also quickly understand that kissing is prohibited and that the very idea of ​​an exchange of saliva provokes supreme disgust among ordinary mortals. It is the notion of human relationships that is in question here and therefore of love. But beyond its subject, it is the staging that impresses with this almost gentle way of creating unease in normality. The relentless story carried by the voice-over of Vicky Krieps (so chic!) advances skillfully, never imposing the rules of its own logic. And when an event shatters this melancholy and brutal march, time and our eyes find themselves disturbed. There is some Luis Buñuel in this cinema.

Two people exchanging saliva had previously triumphed all over the world: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Pantin and even Clermont-Ferrand. You can see it for free on MyCanal.