Who is Valentina Merli, the only Italian awarded at the 2026 Oscars

At the Dolby Theatre, a very rare circumstance occurred in the history of the Academy: a tie for the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film. Among the awarded titles, alongside "The Singers", is "Two People Exchanging Saliva".

Among the protagonists of this triumph stands out Valentina Merli, an Italian producer who transformed a simple nomination into a historic result, proudly waving the tricolor in a Hollywood year lacking in local presence.

Born in Bologna in 1973, Merli did not follow the traditional training path of the industry: she graduated in Law with a thesis in comparative private law with France, leveraging a “hybrid” education that provided her with legal and organizational tools crucial for navigating the complex regulatory frameworks of international productions.

Her entry into the film world came through the Cineteca di Bologna, but it was an internship in Strasbourg at Eurimages that represented the turning point: there she developed a broad and aware vision of the dynamics of European co-productions.

With this foundation, Merli moved to Paris, where she has lived and worked for years. In the French capital, she co-founded, along with Violeta Kreimer, the production company Misia Films. The identity of the company reflects her cultural profile: a strong transnational orientation and the goal of “connecting talents and resources between Europe and the United States”, combining the perspective of author cinema with professional networks on an international scale.

In this context, the decision to support and co-produce Deux personnes échangeant de la salive, the original title of the awarded short film, was born, conceived to engage a global audience. The film, written and directed by Natalie Musteata and Alexandre Singh, is a dystopian fable with an allegorical twist: in a repressive society, a kiss is a capital offense and even everyday transactions end with a slap instead of a handshake.

The success is not a matter of chance, but of the production approach built by Merli on alliances and careful distribution: after being selected at Telluride and winning at Clermont-Ferrand in 2025, the work experienced further acceleration thanks to the digital distribution managed by The New Yorker. Such a solid framework that it attracted executive producers of the caliber of Isabelle Huppert and Julianne Moore.

In the context of the 98th edition of the Oscars, due to the absence of Italian films in the shortlist for Best International Film, Valentina Merli has become the symbol of an Italy capable of asserting itself in the world.