The competition among countries to introduce their films for the Best International Feature Film category of the 99th Oscars is heating up, with the final deadline for submissions ending on October 1. The shortlist for the Oscars will be announced on December 15, and 15 international films will be selected for voting by Academy members; members who are committed to watching all 15 films in this category. The final Oscar nominees will be announced on January 21.
Selected Films from Various Countries
Among this year's films, "The Fjord" is Romania's representative, having won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival; "Thaw" from Chile, which was showcased in the "Un Certain Regard" section at Cannes; and "Always" from Germany, which received the main award in the "Un Certain Regard" section. France has yet to announce its film and is facing several different options. Additionally, according to the Academy's new rule, any film that wins the main award at one of the six major festivals — Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Sundance, Busan, and Toronto — can enter the competition for the Best International Feature Film at the Oscars even without the support of its national committee.
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Some Representatives and Their Works
The selection committee for Nepal's international film has chosen "Elephants in the Mist" by Abinash Bikram Shah as the country's representative. This film, which is Shah's first directorial experience in making a feature film, tells the story of the Kinnar community in Nepal and has received the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.
On the other hand, "Tell Me Everything" by Moshe Rosenthal has been selected as Israel's representative. This film follows Boaz, a 12-year-old boy who discovers a devastating secret about his father. "The Fjord," written and directed by Cristian Mungiu, will represent Romania at the 2027 Oscars and has won the Palme d'Or for Best Film at the Cannes Film Festival.
"Antas," a heist thriller in Irish by Damian McCann, is Ireland's representative at the 2027 Oscars. "Thaw" by Manuela Martelli and "We Are All Strangers" directed by Anthony Chen have also been introduced as representatives of Chile and Singapore, respectively. Additionally, "Suddenly" by Ryusuke Hamaguchi has been selected as Japan's representative.
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