85 Films Competing in Oscars International Race, the Smallest Field in 9 Years
Academy members who are voting in the Best International Feature Film category have been given 85 different films to consider, according to emails sent to voters on Friday and obtained by TheWrap.
The 85 films make up the smallest field in the category in nine years. Last year saw 88 qualifying films, after the total number of eligible films had topped 90 in five of the previous six years. The record was 93, set in 2000.
In late September, all prospective voters in the category received emails inviting them to vote in the international category and telling them that those who opted in would receive emails with their assigned viewing on Friday, Nov. 1. But those emails came a week early, going to prospective voters on Friday afternoon, Oct. 25, and separating the members into seven separate groups.
Each group was given a list of 12 or 13 films to view, either in the Academy’s members-only screening platform devoted to the category or in theaters. Voters must see every film in the group for their vote to count, but they are also encouraged to see as many films as they want outside their group.
Films were not separated randomly into the groups but were chosen to create a mixture of regions, genres and running times. Group 1, for instance, is the only group with 13 entries and contains five films from Europe (Albania, Estonia, Norway, Italy and Switzerland), three from South and Central America (Bolivia, Paraguay and Costa Rica), one from Africa (Algeria), three from Asia (Armenia, Cambodia and Malaysia) and one from the Middle East (Iraq).
The list of films that were assigned to voters is not necessarily the same as the final list of qualifying films, which the Academy will release at a later date. Occasionally, an assigned film will later be determined to be ineligible under the category’s rules, though in most cases there is no difference between the list of assigned films and the final list.
Four films that were publicized as being their country’s submissions are missing from the list of assigned films. Three of those were documentaries: China’s “The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru,” Jordan’s “My Sweet Land” and Uruguay’s “The Door Is There.” Haiti’s “Kidnapping Inc.” was the fourth film announced as its country’s submission but that did not end up on any assignment lists.
First-round voting will take place from Dec. 9-13, with a shortlist of 15 films announced on Dec. 17. A second round of voting will narrow the 15 down to the final five nominees.
All of the eligible films will be placed in the Academy Screening Room devoted to the category, with new additions made every Friday. At the time the group assignments were made, 41 of the 85 titles were available in the screening room, though it did not contain such high-profile films as France’s “Emilia Perez,” Brazil’s “I’m Still Here,” Germany’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” Italy’s “Vermiglio,” Mexico’s “Sujo,” Norway’s “Armand,” Portugal’s “Grand Tour,” Senegal’s “Dahomey” and the United Kingdom’s “Santosh.”
The highest-profile films that are available for voters to stream include Austria’s “The Devil’s Bath,” Belgium’s “Julie Keeps Quiet,” Bosnia and Herzegovina’s “My Late Summer,” Cambodia’s “Meeting With Pol Pot,” Canada’s “Universal Language,” Denmark’s “The Girl With the Needle,” Iceland’s “Touch,” Ireland’s “Kneecap,” Japan’s “Cloud,” Morocco’s “Everybody Loves Touda,” Latvia’s animated “Flow” and Palestine’s “From Ground Zero,” which is made up of 22 short films by directors who live in Gaza.
The available films are spread unevenly among the seven groups. Voters in Group 6, for example, only have two films available to them in the screening room, while voters in Group 3 and 4 have eight.
This year’s international race has fewer obvious favorites than in other recent years. Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Perez” is the highest-profile entry and the default frontrunner, followed by “I’m Still Here” from director Walter Salles and “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” from Mohammad Rasoulof.
Here is the list of films that have been assigned to voters in the Best International Feature Film category:
Albania: “Waterdrop,” Robert Budina
Algeria: “Algiers,” Chakib Taleb-Bendiab
Argentina: “Kill the Jockey,” Luis Ortega
Armenia: “Yasha and Leonid Brezhnev,” Edgar Baghdasaryan
Austria: “The Devil’s Bath,” Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala
Bangladesh: “The Wrestler,” Iqbal Hossain Chowdhury
Belgium: “Julie Keeps Quiet,” Leonardo Van Dijl
Bolivia: “Own Hand,” Rodrigo Gory Patino
Bosnia and Herzegovina: “My Late Summer,” Danis Tanovic
Brazil: “I’m Still Here,” Walter Salles
Bulgaria: “Triumph,” Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov
Cambodia: “Meeting With Pol Pot,” Rithy Panh
Cameroon: “Kismet,” Ngang Romanus
Canada: “Universal Language,” Matthew Rankin
Chile: “In Her Place,” Maite Alberdi
Colombia: “La Suprema,” Felipe Holguin Caro
Costa Rica: “Memories of a Burning Body,” Antonella Sudasassi
Croatia: “Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day,” Ivona Juka
Czech Republic: “Waves,” Jiri Madl
Denmark: “The Girl with the Needle,” Magnus von Horn
Dominican Republic: “Aire: Just Breathe,” Letitia Tonos
Ecuador: “Behind the Mist,” Sebastian Cordero
Egypt: “Flight 404,” Hani Khalifa
Estonia: “8 Views of Lake Biwa,” Marko Raat
Finland: “Family Time,” Tia Kouvo
France: “Emilia Perez,” Jacques Audiard
Georgia: “The Antique,” Rusudan Glurjidze
Germany: “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” Mohammad Rasoulof
Greece: “Murderess,” Eva Nathena
Guatemala: “Rita,” Jayro Bustamante
Hong Kong: “Twight of the Warriors: Walled In,” Soi Cheang
Hungary: “Semmelweis,” Lajos Koltai
Iceland: “Touch,” Baltasar Kormakur
India: “Lost Ladies,” Kiran Rao
Indonesia: “Women From Rote Island,” Jeremias Nyangoen
Iran: “In the Arms of the Tree,” Babak Lotfi Khajepasha
Iraq: “Baghdad Messi,” Sahim Omar Kalifa
Ireland: “Kneecap,” Rich Peppiatt
Israel: “Come Closer,” Tom Nesher
Italy: “Vermiglio,” Maura Delpero
Japan: “Cloud,” Kurosawa Kiyoshi
Kazakhstan: “Bauryna Salu,” Askhat Kuchinchirekov
Kenya: “Nawi,” Vallentine Chelluget, Apuu Mourine, Kevin & Toby Schmutzler
Kyrgyzstan: “Paradise at Mother’s Feet,” Rusian Akun
Latvia: “Flow,” Gints Zilbalodis
Lebanon: “Arze,” Mira Shaib
Lithuania: “Drowning Dry,” Laurynas Bareisa
Malaysia: “Abang Adik,” Jin Ong
Malta: “Castillo,” Abigail Mallia
Mexico: “Sujo,” Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez
Mongolia: “If Only I Could Hibernate,” Zoljargal Purvedash
Montenegro: “Supermarket,” Nemanja Becanovic
Morocco: “Everybody Loves Touda,” Nabil Ayouch
Nepal: “Shambhakam,” Min Bahadur Bham
Netherlands: “Memory Lane,” Jelle de Jonge
Nigeria: “Mai Martaba”
Norway: “Armand,” Halfdan Ullman Tondel
Pakistan: “The Glassworker,” Usman Riaz
Palestine: “From Ground Zero,” Aws Al-Banna…
Panama: “Wake Up Mom,” Arianne Benedetti
Paraguay: “The Last,” Sebastian Pena Escobar
Peru: “Yana-Wara,” Oscar Catacora and Tito Catacora
Philippines: “And So It Begins,” Ramona S. Diaz
Poland: “Under the Volcano,” Damian Kocur
Portugal: “Grand Tour,” Miguel Gomes
Romania : “Three Kilometres to the End of the World,” Emanuel Parvu
Senegal: “Dahomey,” Mati Diop
Serbia: “Russian Consul,” Miroslav Lekic
Singapore: “La Luna,” M. Raihan Halim
Slovakia: “The Hungarian Dressmaker,” Iveta Grofova
Slovenia: “Family Therapy,” Sonja Prosenc
South Africa: “Old Righteous Blues,” Muneera Sallies
South Korea: “12.12: The Day,” Kim Sung-su
Spain: “Saturn Return,” Isaki Lacuesta and Pol Rodriguez
Sweden: “The Last Journey,” Filip Hammar and Fredrik Wikingsson
Switzerland: “Queens,” Klaudia Reynicke
Taiwan: “Old Fox,” Hsiao Ya-chuan
Tajikistan: “Melody,” Behrous Sebt Rasoul
Thailand: “How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies,” Pat Boonnitipat
Tunisia: “Take My Breath,” Nada Mezni Hafaiedh
Turkey: “Life,” Zeki Demirkubuz
Ukraine: “La Palisiada,” Philip Sotnychenko
United Kingdom: “Santosh,” Sandhya Suri
Venezuela: “Back to Life,” Luis Carlo Hueck and Alfredo Hueck
Vietnam: “Peach Blossom, Pho and Piano,” Phi Tien Son
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