By Will Mavity
After two years of International Feature Oscar races that felt locked up from the word go due to the presence of Best Picture Nominees “Roma” and “Parasite,” this year presents an unpredictable and wide-open Oscar field. And with the submission deadline ending today, we now know our entries in this year’s race.
The Academy’s restrictive process of selecting international film contenders has made this year’s race even more inscrutable. Each country is allowed to submit one film for Oscar consideration. Every year, this process leads to surprises. Last year, France raised eyebrows when they chose to submit “Les Misérables” instead of “Portrait of a Lady on Fire.” This year, many countries have defied expectations, choosing to submit smaller films over ones that many predicted to be significant awards players. Mexico opted to submit “I’m No Longer Here” over Sundance Next! Award Winner “I Carry You with Me” and Venice Silver Lion winner “New Order.” Italy opted for the documentary “Notturno” instead of Netflix’s Sophia Loren-led Best Actress contender “The Life Ahead.” India picked the action film “Jallikattu” over Venice FIREPRESCI winner “The Disciple.”
All of the un-submitted films above were perceived as major contenders for nominations or even wins in the category. Their absence in favor of documentaries and genre films portends an unusual year for the category open to unorthodox contenders.
After “Honeyland” made history last year as the first Documentary to be nominated for both International Film and Documentary Feature, many countries have followed suit. Where once it was an anomaly to see documentaries submitted in this category, this year, the submissions from Brazil, Chile, Italy, Kenya, Luxembourg, Romania, and Venezuela are all documentaries. Romania’s submission “Collective,” in particular, is viewed as a formidable contender in both categories due to its timeliness.
In addition to a large presence of documentaries, several genre films are in play this year. As mentioned earlier, India’s submission “Jallikattu” is an action film. Guatemala, Indonesia, and Malaysia have all submitted horror films (“La Llorona,” “Impetigore,” and “Roh” respectively.) South Korea’s “The Man Standing Next” is a ’70s-esque political surveillance thriller. Greece’s “Apples” and Ukraine’s “Atlantis” are both sci-fi.
What’s more, all or most of the above seem like viable contenders in the absence of many runaways. Thus far, the only “sure thing” seems to be Denmark’s “Another Round,” which won the Audience Award at the London Film Festival and has already racked up a slew of European Film Nominations. Due to its high-profile director and star combo (“The Hunt’s” Thomas Vinterberg and Mads Mikkelsen teaming up again), and effective publicity from distributor Samuel Goldwyn, it seems poised to be a big contender. Another buzzy title is Bosnia and Herzegovina’s “Quo Vadis, Aida?” which earned raves at Venice and Toronto. It has yet to land a distributor and needs an effective campaign to keep its momentum going, though.
Mexico’s “I’m No Longer Here” is being pushed heavily by Guillermo Del Toro and Alfonso Cuarón. It also has Netflix campaigning it – a streamer that has the funds to keep it in voter’s minds. Ivory Coast’s “Night of the Kings” is visually dynamic and won the Amplify award at Toronto and has been acquired by Neon. Neon’s track record with international films in light of “Parasite” needs no explanation. In that vein, Neon also has Russia’s “Dear Comrades,” which received a Special Jury Prize at Venice. “Charlatan,” the Czech Republic’s submission is worth keeping an eye on as well. It is directed by Agnieszka Holland, an Oscar nominee for writing “Europa, Europa” and the director of the 2010 International Film Nominee, “In Darkness.” Finally, Switzerland’s “My Little Sister” is a film that apparently makes everyone cry, and that can certainly never hurt.
In short, in the absence of a “Parasite” or “Roma,” this is a wide-open, unusual field. You can’t go wrong predicting anything at this point. Although, ignore “Another Round” at your peril. Check out our latest Oscar Predictions here. What do you think the five nominees will be?
​Here is the full list of submitted films for this year’s Best International Feature race:
​Albania
Open Door
Algeria
Heliopolis
Argentina
The Sleepwalkers
Armenia
Songs of Solomon
Austria
What We Wanted
Bangladesh
Sincerely Yours, Dhaka
Belarus
Persian Lessons
Belgium
Working Girls
Bhutan
Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom
Bolivia
Chaco
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Quo Vadis, Aida?
Brazil
Babenco: Tell Me When I Die
Bulgaria
The Father
Canada
Funny Boy
Chile
The Mole Agent
Colombia
Forgotten We’ll Be
Costa Rica
Land of Ashes
Croatia
Extracurricular
Czechia
Charlatan
Denmark
Another Round
Dominican Republic
State of Madness
Ecuador
Vacio
Egypt
When We’re Born
Estonia
The Last Ones
Finland
Tove
France
Two of Us
Georgia
Beginning
Germany
And Tomorrow the Entire World
Greece
Apples
Guatemala
La Llorona
Hong Kong
Better Days
Hungary
Preparations To Be Together For An Unknown Period Of Time
Iceland
Agnes Joy
India
Jallikattu
Indonesia
Impetigore
Iran
Sun Children
Ireland
Arracht
Israel
Asia
Italy
Notturno
Ivory Coast
Night of the Kings
Japan
True Mothers
Jordan
200 Meters
Kenya
The Letter
Kosovo
Exile
Kyrgyzstan
Running to the Sky
Latvia
Blizzard of Souls
Lebanon
Broken Keys
Lesotho
This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection
Lithuania
Nova Lituania
Luxembourg
River Tales
Malaysia
Roh
Mexico
I’m No Longer Here
Montenegro
Breasts
Morocco
The Unknown Saint
Netherlands
Buladó
North Macedonia
Willow
Norway
Hope
Pakistan
Zindagi Tamasha
Palestine
Gaza mon amour
Panama
Operación Cause Justa
Peru
Song Without a Name
Philippines
Mindanao
Poland
Never Gonna Snow Again
Portugal
Listen
Romania
Collective
Russia
Dear Comrades!
Serbia
Dara in Jasenovac
Singapore
Wet Season
Slovakia
The Auschwitz Report
Slovenia
Stories from the Chestnut Woods
South Africa
Toorbos
South Korea
The Man Standing Next
Spain
The Endless Trench
Sudan
You Will Die at Twenty
Suriname
Wiren
Sweden
Charter
Switzerland
My Little Sister
Thailand
Happy Old Year
Taiwan
A Sun
Tunisia
The Man Who Sold His Skin
Turkey
Miracle in Cell No. 7
Ukraine
Atlantis
Uruguay
Aleli
Uzbekistan
2000 Songs of Farida
Venezuela
Once Upon a Time in Venezuela
You can follow Will and hear more of his thoughts on the Oscars and Film on Twitter at @mavericksmovies
