Respawn and Oculus celebrate Oscar win for Medal of Honor documentary

‘Colette’ was produced by the games companies and included with Above and Beyond

Respawn and Oculus Studios celebrated an Oscar win on Sunday, for a film included with VR game Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond.

Colette, which was co-produced by the two games companies and directed by Anthony Giacchino, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject.

The documentary is available as an add-on in Above and Beyond and tells the story of Colette Marin-Catherine, who was a teenage resistance fighter during World War II.

Colette’s brother Jean-Pierre was captured by the Nazis and sent to the Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp near Nordhausen, Germany, where he and 20,000 others were worked to death building arms for the Nazis.

In the documentary, Colette visits what remains of the camp for the first time.

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“I want to thank our amazing E.P., Peter Hirschmann, at Electronic Arts, everyone at Electronic Arts and Respawn, and Oculus, especially Vince, Dusty and Mara,” Giacchino said during his acceptance speech on Sunday, via Deadline.

Peter Hirschmann, creative director at Respawn Entertainment, added: “We could not be more proud of Anthony Giacchino and the team’s work in bringing Colette’s story to life as part of Medal of Honor, a video game franchise rooted in history and the retelling of veterans’ stories to generations for years to come.

“As we continue to take steps towards further legitimizing the creativity and passion of those in the games industry, we hope this is the first of many Oscars® for video game companies who have shown time and time again how powerful and impactful storytelling through this interactive medium can be.”

Colette can be viewed in full via The Guardian, which acquired and distributed the film.

Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond released last year. The title’s “full-length campaign” sees players go behind enemy lines to aid the French Resistance and battle Nazis in land, air and sea missions in war torn 1940s Europe.

Incorporating interviews with World War II veterans, as well as the Colette film, was meant to add historical context to the game experience, according to Respawn.