"We feel very happy for Eeva to be shortlisted for an Oscar, of course. It was unexpected, we weren't even considering the possibility. It makes us happy to see that people appreciate and connect with the film", Croatian Lucija Mrzljak and Estonian Morten Tšinakov told FNE.

It's a sad day in Eva's life. The rain is pouring down at her husband's funeral. A woodpecker that delivered a Morse code message on the coffin is killed. There is a lot of crying, too much wine and a couple of dreams that fill in the gaps.

This 2D animation film was produced by Draško Ivezić through Adriatic Animation (Croatia) and coproduced by Kalev Tamm through Joonisfilm (Estonia).

Eeva has been awarded at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, Nashville Film Festival, Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films and Ottawa International Animation Festival.

Lucija Mrzljak and Morten Tšinakov established themselves as a great duo with animated films like A Demonstration of Brilliance in Four Acts (2018), The Stork (2020) and Eeva (2023). Lucija Mrzljak is a Croatian animation film director and illustration artist based in Tallinn, where she completed her MA in animation in 2016. Morten Tšinakov has been working at Joonisfilm, after his studies in animation at the Estonian Academy of Arts.

Estonian Dog-Apartment / Koerkorter directed by Priit Tender has also been shortlisted for the Animated Short Film category of the 96th Academy Awards.