20 Things You Didn't Know About 2021's Oscar Nominees
9. The Opening Birthing Scene Was Shot Six Times Over Two Days - Pieces Of A Woman
Nobody who's seen Pieces of a Woman will ever forget its harrowing first act, a stunning single-take sequence in which Martha (Vanessa Kirby, who received a Best Actress nod for her work) gives birth to her daughter who dies moments later.
Between the demanding nature of the performance and the slickly flawless camerawork, it's a bravura piece of filmmaking and a mesmerising short film in its own right.
Unsurprisingly the scene was both gruelling and time-consuming to pull off, with director Kornél Mundruczó devoting two entire shooting days to getting it right.
Following extensive rehearsals in pre-production, six takes were shot, the fourth of which was ultimately used in the film. Considering that the scene takes up basically 25% of the movie, though, two days of shooting seems practically speedy.