"Detainment", a short film based on the murder of British toddler James Bulger, will remain in the Oscar race despite a huge uproar in the UK.
The film, directed Vincent Lambe, came under fire after it received an Academy Award nomination in the Best Live Action Short Film category.
Denise Fergus, mother of Bulger, who was mercilessly tortured and killed by two 10-year-old boys -- Jon Venables and Robert Thompson -- in 1993, blasted the film, which she said, was made without their permission.
She demanded that its Oscar nomination should be rescinded.
In a statement, obtained by The Independent, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) said the film was chosen in the top five by the members by applying their "own judgement" on the film's merits and therefore it will remain in contention for Oscar.
"We are deeply moved and saddened by the loss that they have endured, and we take their concerns very seriously. Following long-standing foundational principles established to maintain the integrity of the awards, the Academy does not in any way influence the voting process," the Academy said.
"Detainment was voted on by Academy members. When making their choices, each individual applies their own judgment regarding the films' creative, artistic and technical merits. We understand that this will not alleviate the pain experienced by the family," it added.
The Academy further said that it has a "neutral role in the voting process."
"Detainment" recreates police interviews with Venables and Thompson, by using transcripts from the original tapes played in court during their trial.
After the film's Oscar nomination, Fergus took to Twitter express her disappointment.
"I cannot express how disgusted and upset I am at this so-called film that has been made and now nominated for an Oscar," she said in a statement posted on Twitter.
"It's one thing making a film like this without contacting or getting permission from James' family but another to have a child re-enact the final hours of James's life before he was brutally murdered and making myself and my family have to relive this all over again! (sic)" she added.
An online petition seeking its removal was started last December after the film made into the top nine Oscar shortlist. It has since gained over 98,000 signatures.
"After everything I have said about this so-called film and asking it to be removed, it's still been nominated for for an Oscar even though 90,000 people have signed a petition which has now been ignored just like my feelings by the Academy.
"I'm so angry and upset at this present time... I just hope the film doesn't win its category in the Oscars," she said.
Lambe had previously defended the film but apologised for not consulting Bulger's family.
"I have enormous sympathy for the Bulger family and I am extremely sorry for any upset the film may have caused them," he said.
Bulger was killed by Venables and Thompson on February 12, 1993. Fergus took her son with her to a shopping centre near Liverpool, and when she went to pay at the counter, the two convicts took the two-year-old and left the market.
The duo had brutally murdered the boy and then left his body on nearby train tracks. They were charged with abduction and murder. They were sentenced for eight years in prison. Venables and Thompson released in 2001 and given new identities.
"Detainment" will compete with "Skin", "Marguerite", "Fauve" and "Mother".
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