PARIS — The Galeries Lafayette Group-produced “Two People Exchanging Saliva” took home the Oscar for best live action short film Sunday night, marking a Hollywood victory for a project with Paris retail support.

The 36-minute black-and-white film was written and directed by Natalie Musteata and Alexandre Singh.

The absurdist dystopian short was filmed overnight inside Galeries Lafayette Champs-Élysées and in the La Suite apartment at the group’s Boulevard Haussmann flagship.

“It’s amazing news for us, for all the team,” Galeries Lafayette Group image and innovation director Guillaume Houzé told WWD. The executive was speaking from Los Angeles, where he attended the Academy Awards ceremony.

The film has received numerous awards on the festival circuit, but “the Oscar is really super, super special,” he added.

The film imagines a society where kissing is outlawed and everyday transactions are conducted through ritualized slaps to the face. The story follows Angine, played by Zar Amir, a discontented woman whose fascination with a playful salesgirl portrayed by Luàna Bajrami draws suspicion from a jealous colleague.

Narrated by Vicky Krieps, the short premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in September 2024 and went on to build momentum on the festival circuit with a series of awards.

Galeries Lafayette was involved from the earliest stages of the project, produced by Paris-based Misia Films, said Houzé, adding that the absurdist premise was part of the appeal.

“They came with this amazing idea and this topic. It’s an absurd premise, but what a poetic and beautiful way they managed to do the film – the lighting, the cinematography, and the actresses are stunning,” he said.

“But beyond the results itself, what the film expresses is a real message of hope in a world that can sometimes feel completely absurd. So it’s a hope that creation and cinema in particular allows us to carry and share those messages.”

Musteata and Singh were selected through the “By Night” initiative, which provides artists with funding and location support. Under the program, the filmmakers were given unusual access to the empty department store after hours. For “Two People Exchanging Saliva,” the production team filmed for six nights after closing.

Before its Oscar win, the short had already secured a strong presence on the international festival circuit, picking up numerous awards including the grand jury prize at AFI Fest in Los Angeles, best in block at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival and both the Canal+ national and national audience awards at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival.

As the film gained momentum, it drew the support of Isabelle Huppert and Julianne Moore, who joined as executive producers during the film’s festival run.

“That was part of the journey, actually,” Houzé said. “They loved the film, and they wanted to be part of this adventure. And so, very quickly they jumped on board with us on the film.”

For Houzé, the project reflects a longer tradition of cultural patronage within the family-owned retail group, which has sought to position its flagship locations not only as shopping destinations but also as platforms for contemporary artistic experimentation.

“We’ve been supporting creation for 130 years,” he said. “It’s a real commitment. It’s not about communication. It’s really part of our DNA.”

The company has expanded that commitment in recent years through initiatives including the Fondation Lafayette Anticipations, a contemporary art institution in Paris designed by architect Rem Koolhaas, as well as partnerships with film festivals and emerging creators.

“The idea is always to answer the question of how to be the more useful for the artists, but also for the customers,” Houzé said. “We want to give to our customers a taste of what artists are working on today.”

Galeries Lafayette joined the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival as a partner earlier this year, and will support the event for the next two years with programming and merch.

“We’ll continue to support films,” Houzé said. “It’s really part of our strategy regarding our engagement with cinema and short films in particular.”

Following the win, the group is considering ways to bring the achievement back to its stores, potentially including displaying a replica of the Oscar – or he hopes, the real thing – in the Champs-Élysées outpost.

“I would love to put the Oscar inside,” Houzé said. “That would be amazing.”

After more than a year of campaigning and festival appearances, however, Houzé suggested the filmmakers may first take a pause before celebrating further. The team will decide on its strategy in a few days, he said.

“The campaign started like a year and a half ago,” he said. “So I think they need to rest.”