It took Canadian filmmakers Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis seven years to make their latest animated short film, and their work has paid off.

The 15-minute piece, called "Wild Life," was recently nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short. This is the duo's second Oscar nod.

"The nomination is really a wonderful affirmation that the film works at least for some people," Tilby told Canada AM. "We were quite insecure about it, particularly when it first came out, so this is fantastic for us."

The film, set in 1909, tells the story of a young aristocrat who leaves England to fulfill his hopes of becoming a rancher in Alberta's Wild West. But when he gets there he finds his privileged upbringing has not prepared him for the hardships he faces in the New World.

The fictional character is based on the experience of the creators' grandparents, who once struggled to survive in Canada's harsh landscape, and historical accounts of the era. The pair illustrates the humorous yet gloomy narrative through hand-painted animations.

Tilby said she is grateful to The National Film Board who funded "Wild Life" because it allowed the pair to be more creative with their work.

"The NFB is known around the world in the film community, particularly the short film community, for making groundbreaking films. And it has a lot to do with the fact that we're not constrained by commercial concerns, that we can take the time to innovate, to do stories that are personal, to do things that are original," she said.

Tilby and Forbis both grew up in Alberta and met at Vancouver's Emily Carr College of Art, where they studied film and animation. Before "Wild Life" the pair teamed up to create another short called "When the Day Breaks," which received an Academy Award nomination and won for Best Short film at the Cannes Film Festival as well the Genie Award for Best Animated Short.

Tilby and Forbis said they have talked about creating a feature-length film but aren't sure if they want to share the creative process with others.

"If we were to make an animated feature our job would involve directing large teams of people and we kind of prefer the cottage industry approach where we do everything ourselves, although that's a lot of work too," said Tilby.