International Oscar Submissions: China, Syria, Denmark, Italy, France and More Join the List

The campaigns for the Oscar for international feature film are gaining momentum, with final submissions due by Oct. 1. The Oscars shortlists will be revealed on Dec. 15, with 15 international films selected to be voted on by Academy members in all branches who commit to watch all 15 films. Oscar nominations will be revealed on Jan. 21.

This year’s entries include titles like Romania’s “Fjord,” which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes; Germany’s “Everytime,” which won Cannes’ Un Certain Regard prize; France’s “Minotaur,” which won the Cannes Grand Prix; Spain’s “La Bola Negra,” Poland’s “Fatherland,” which won the best director award at Cannes, and Denmark’s “Woman Unknown,” which won the Golden Lion at Venice, and also earned its star Mathilde Arcel the Coppa Volpi for best actress.

Meanwhile, a new Academy rule allows any film that wins the top prize at one of the six biggest festivals — Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Sundance, Busan and Toronto — to be entered in the international feature race even without a national committee’s backing. 

• Once Upon a Time in the Middle East (China)

  

  Wen Muye’s anti-war drama “Once Upon a Time in the Middle East” will represent mainland China in the international feature film category at the 99th Academy Awards.

  Shen Teng stars as Xu Fu, a chef who takes on debt and travels to an unnamed Middle Eastern country to run a Chinese restaurant. He builds the business with floor manager Ma Junsheng, played by Jiang Qiming, and grows wealthy until war breaks out and his fortunes reverse. The film is based on real events. Wen directed from a script he co-wrote with Zhong Wei and Lang Qunli, with Ning Hao serving as supervising producer.

  The film opened in mainland China on Aug. 11 and had grossed RMB2.356 billion ($351 million) by the time of the Oscar announcement.

• The Other Side of the Sun (Syria)

  

  Tawfik Sabouni’s documentary “The Other Side of the Sun,” which world premiered as part of the Panorama section of this year’s Berlinale, has been chosen to represent Syria in the best international feature film category of the 2027 Academy Awards. It marks the country’s first Oscar candidate since the fall of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad’s regime in December 2024.

  Meanwhile, Andana Films — which handles worldwide sales to “The Other Side of the Sun” — also announced that New York-based Icarus Films has acquired U.S. rights to the film.

  In “The Other Side of the Sun,” the director returns to the Syrian capital of Damascus in the immediate aftermath of the Assad regime’s collapse. There, he meets four fellow former detainees of the notorious Saidnaya prison. Through reenactments inside the prison itself, the documentary “turns memory into testimony, revealing resilience and an unbroken will to survive,” according to Andana’s promotional materials.

  The choice of “The Other Side of the Sun” was announced by Syria’s General Organization for Cinema and marks the first selection made by Syria’s newly formed committee that is accredited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), “underscoring a new chapter in the country’s participation in the international awards landscape,” according to an Andana statement.

• Hanging by a Wire (Pakistan)

  

  Mohammed Ali Naqvi’s documentary thriller “Hanging by a Wire” has been selected as Pakistan‘s submission for the International feature film Oscar at the 99th Academy Awards, marking the first time a documentary has represented the country in the category.

  “Hanging by a Wire” is directed by Naqvi and written and produced by Naqvi and Bilal Sami. The film revisits the August 2023 cable car emergency in Battagram, in northern Pakistan, in which eight passengers, including six schoolboys on their way to school, were left suspended roughly 900 feet above a ravine after a cable snapped. The resulting rescue effort was followed live across Pakistan and internationally. The film draws on footage from witnesses, testimony from survivors and staged reenactments involving people who took part in the rescue to build its account.

  The film debuted at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, in the World Cinema Documentary Competition lineup, before going on to play the Tribeca Festival. Dogwoof holds theatrical distribution rights in the U.K., with Abramorama handling U.S. theatrical release. It is set for a streaming release on Paramount+.
  

• One Woman, One Bra (Kenya)

  

  Kenya is submitting Vincho Nchogu’s “One Woman, One Bra” as its entry to the Oscars international feature race.

  The film follows Star, a Sayit villager at risk of losing her home. While her fellow villagers are about to receive title deeds — marking the first time in centuries they will claim legal ownership of their land — she does not know her parentage and is unmarried. A photograph of her younger self then sparks a journey to find her estranged mother as she considers several options to claim her land.

  “’One Woman, One Bra’ is a film rooted in an authentic Kenyan story and cultural experience,” said Eddah Kiruhi, chairperson of the Kenya Oscars Selection Committee. “Its originality, performances, visual and sonic treatment, and purposeful storytelling were among the elements that distinguished it during the selection process.”

• Variations on a Theme (South Africa)

  

  South Africa has selected “Variations on a Theme,” an Afrikaans-language drama written and directed by Jason Jacobs and Devon Delmar, as its entry to the Oscars international feature race.

  Starring Hettie Farmer, the film follows an “elderly goat herder in the mountains of Namaqualand, South Africa, who falls victim to a scam promising long-overdue reparations for her father’s service during the Second World War,” according to its synopsis. “Waiting for money that will never come, she faces her family’s decision to move her to the city and strip away the last of her independence.”

  “Variations on a Theme” world premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, where it won the Tiger Award. It went on to be awarded best African film at the Joburg Film Festival and best film at Zagreb Subversive. It was produced by the filmmakers in association with Kraal Stories, Meria Productions and Interakt (Netherlands).

  “Being selected to represent South Africa as the country’s Oscar submission is an incredible honor,” producer Annemarie du Plessis said. “The fact that we get to share the beautiful community of Kharkams, who are truly the heartbeat of this film, with the world makes it even more special. We are so grateful to everyone who believed in this film and helped us get here. We hope that this moment can serve as an inspiration to other filmmakers and storytellers to keep going, to be bold and to trust in the stories they want to tell.”

• Riverstone (Sri Lanka)

  

  Sri Lanka has selected “Riverstone,” directed by Lalith Rathnayake, as its entry for the international feature category at the 99th Academy Awards, chosen through the country’s National Oscars Selection Committee under newly regulated national selection procedures.

  Co-written by Rathnayake and Nilantha Perera, the film follows three police officers escorting a political prisoner, Nanditha, across Sri Lanka’s Knuckles Mountain Range to his home village, a journey that exposes the officers’ own hypocrisies and the ethnic and political fault lines running through the country. The cast is led by Mahendra Perera as the driving officer Udayasiri, with Randika Gunathilaka as Nanditha, alongside Shyam Fernando and Priyantha Sirikumara.

  “Riverstone” premiered internationally at the Shanghai International Film Festival in 2025, where it won best screenplay and best cinematography in the Asian New Talent Awards, before a Sri Lankan theatrical release in 2026. It went on to win best director and best performance in Singapore, the Golden Royal Bengal Tiger Award for best director in Kolkata, and best actor and best supporting actor at the Malaysia Golden Global Awards.

• The Fox King (Malaysia)

  

  Malaysia has selected “The Fox King” (Semusim Lara), directed by Woo Ming Jin, as its submission for the international feature category at the 99th Academy Awards.

  A Malaysia-Indonesia co-production backed by the Creative Content Fund under the Communications Ministry, “The Fox King” follows twin brothers Ali and Amir, raised without their mother, whose relationship shifts after the arrival of Lara, a new English teacher. The cast includes Idan Aedan, Hadi Putra and Indonesian actor Dian Sastrowardoyo.

  The film premiered in the Centrepiece program at the Toronto Film Festival in 2025, and went on to screen at Busan, Jakarta, the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival, Singapore, Beijing, the Far East Film Festival in Udine, and San Francisco, before opening in Malaysian theaters.

  Woo’s “Stone Turtle” won the Fiprseci prize at Locarno in 2022.

• Malecón (Cuba)

  

  Cuba has selected Carlos Larrazabal’s “Malecón” as its official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards.

  “Malecón” follows Elvis as he returns to Havana after 10 years in prison. Reunited with his childhood sweetheart and drawn into the city’s criminal underworld, he must decide how far he will go to finance his escape — and what he is willing to leave behind.

  “Malecón” was co-written by Larrazabal and Cuban screenwriter Fabián Suárez, with the script developed through the Sundance Collab program. It has an all-Cuban cast led by César Domínguez, Camila Rodhes, Omar Rolando and Yordanka Ariosa.

  The film’s producers include Jorge Perugorría, the acclaimed Cuban actor known for “Fresa y Chocolate,” and seasoned producers Jaime Otero and Flavio Florencio.

• Woman Unknown (Denmark)

  

  May el-Toukhy’s “Woman Unknown” has been chosen as Denmark’s official entry for the international feature film race at the Oscars. The film won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and also earned its star Mathilde Arcel the Coppa Volpi for best actress.

  It is set in Copenhagen, May 1945, as Marie prepares for her summer wedding to an older, respected widower. “For several years, she has worked as a maid in his household, caring for his daughter. Now, a new life finally seems within reach. But beneath the seemingly idyllic surface lies a secret that could shatter her dream. And as the truth about her shameful past comes ever closer to being revealed, the price she is willing to pay grows ever higher. No one must know the truth,” the synopsis reads.

• Spirit Guardians: The Last Secret of the First Emperor (Vietnam)

  

  Vietnam has selected “Hộ Linh Tráng Sĩ: Bí Ẩn Mộ Vua Đinh” (“Spirit Guardians: The Last Secret of the First Emperor”), directed by Nguyễn Phan Quang Bình, as its submission for the international feature category at the 99th Academy Awards.

  The historical action-fantasy film is set during the reign of Emperor Đinh Tiên Hoàng and follows warriors who split his coffin’s funeral procession across multiple routes to outwit enemies seeking to desecrate his tomb. The film stars Johnny Trí Nguyễn, Lê Vũ Long, Tuấn Trần and Thiên Tú, with Nguyễn also serving as action choreographer. The film grossed over VND38 billion ($1.5 million) at the local box office following its August release.

  The film was selected for a Gala presentation at the Toronto Film Festival.
  

• Death Has No Master (Venezuela)

  

  Venezuela has selected Jorge Thielen Armand’s “Death Has No Master” as its entry for the Oscars international feature race.

  The film follows Caro (Asia Argento), “a woman who travels to Venezuela to sell her late father’s cacao plantation, only to find the family mansion occupied by its former staff, who are determined to remain at all costs,” according to its official synopsis. “As Caro takes justice into her own hands to claim the inheritance she believes is hers, she sets off a struggle that unearths the violence buried in the land and its memory.”

  “Death Has No Master” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in its Directors’ Fortnight section, and went on to screen at the Locarno Film Festival, where Argento earned a lifetime achievement award, as well as at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas.

• Roid (Bangladesh)

  

  Bangladesh has selected “Roid,” directed by Mejbaur Rahman Sumon, as its submission for the international feature category at the 99th Academy Awards.

  The Bangladeshi drama had its premiere as a Tiger Competition selection at International Film Festival Rotterdam‘s 55th edition. “Roid” was also selected for the Seattle International Film Festival.

  Bongo produced “Roid” alongside Facecard Production, with Apoorva Bakshi of Awedacious Originals serving as executive producer. Set in the Bangladeshi countryside during a pre-digital era, the film centers on Sadu, an impoverished tenant farmer who lives in isolation with his volatile wife. Despite his repeated efforts to leave her in unfamiliar places, she keeps finding her way back, transforming the rural drama into an allegory about desire, attachment and fate. It stars Mostafizur Noor Imran, Nazifa Tushi, Gazi Rakayet, and Ahsabul Y Riad, with cinematography by Joaher Musavvir Jyoti.

  The film marks Sumon’s sophomore effort following his 2022 breakout “Hawa,” Bangladesh’s Academy Award submission that became the first Bangladeshi film to chart on U.S. box office rankings.

• The Spiral (Italy)

  

  Paolo Strippoli‘s “The Spiral” has been designated as Italy’s candidate in the best international feature film category of the 2027 Academy Awards.

  
  The high-concept thriller stars Valeria Bruni Tedeschi as a demonic character called The Stranger, who entices a young mother played by Jasmine Trinca into forging a Faustian pact.
  The film, which premiered in competition at Venice Film Festival earlier this month, centers on a mother-daughter relationship that spirals out of control following a shocking revelation. At the film’s start, a woman named Anna suddenly shows up at her daughter’s Alice’s house during a thunderstorm saying she wants to tell her a dark truth about their family. She claims to have made a pact with The Stranger to save Alice’s leg after an accident 20 years earlier. That pact “has triggered a domino effect causing terrible events over the years. Only Alice can help to put everything right. But at what price?” the synopsis says.
  

  The 21-strong list of submitted titles — all of which were theatrically released in Italy in the period between Oct. 1, 2025 and Sept. 30, 2026 — also included “The Spiral’s” fellow Venice competition entries “It Will Happen Tonight” from Nanni Moretti and “Back to Buenos Aires” by Marco Bechis.
  

  “The Spiral” was chosen to represent Italy in the Oscars race by a commission of experts named by Italy’s motion picture association ANICA.

• Sons of the Neon Night (Hong Kong)

  

  Hong Kong’s Oscars selection committee has chosen Juno Mak’s “Sons of the Neon Night” as the territory’s submission for the international feature category at the 99th Academy Awards.

  Written, directed and co-produced by Mak, the film assembles a rare lineup of Hong Kong cinema veterans led by Takeshi Kaneshiro, Sean Lau, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Louis Koo and Gao Yuanyuan. Set in an alternate version of 1994 Hong Kong, the story marked Kaneshiro’s return to the screen after an eight-year absence. Production wrapped in 2018, but the film spent seven years in the pipeline before finally premiering in the Midnight Screenings section of the Cannes Film Festival in May 2025 and opening in Hong Kong theaters that October. Its roughly $50 million budget ranks it among the most expensive productions in the territory’s film history.

  The selection comes even though “Sons of the Neon Night” lost the top prizes at April’s Hong Kong Film Awards to “Ciao UFO,” which took best film and best director. Mak’s thriller still walked away as the ceremony’s biggest winner overall, converting eight of its 12 nominations into wins, including best supporting actor for Alex To, best cinematography, best film editing, best art direction, best costume and makeup design, best sound design, best visual effects and best original film score for the late Ryuichi Sakamoto and Nate Connelly.

• Sink (Jordan)

  

  “Sink,” the debut feature from Zain Duraie, will represent Jordan in the Oscars international feature race.

  The thriller first premiered at TIFF in 2025 and has since traveled across the international festival circuit. It stars Clara Khoury and Mohammad Nizar and “navigates the complexities of family dynamics, mental health, the burden of societal stigma and the enduring power of human connection,” according to a press release.

  “Making ‘Sink’ was a deeply personal journey — a way to confront the often-unspoken struggles of mental health and the profound complexities of family dynamics,” Duraie said in a statement. “To see this story resonate with audiences worldwide, and now to have the immense honor of representing my country at the Academy Awards, is beyond my wildest dreams. This recognition is a victory for every voice striving to break the stigma.”

  “Sink” was produced by Amman-based production company Tabi360, with MetFilm Sales currently handling worldwide sales. It was made with support from the Royal Film Commission – Jordan, the Red Sea Film Festival and the Doha Film Institute.

  Added producer Alaa Alasad of Tabi360: “From the very beginning, we believed completely in Zain’s vision and the vital importance of this story. Producing ‘Sink’ was a true labor of love, and seeing it carry the Jordanian flag to the Oscars is a testament to the undeniable talent and dedication of our entire cast and crew, including the brilliant work of Clara and Mohammad. We want to express our deepest gratitude to the Royal Film Commission, as well as all our co-producers and financiers, whose unwavering belief made this film possible. This is not just a milestone for Tabi360, but a proud moment for the continued growth of Jordanian cinema on the global stage.”
  

• Fatherland (Poland)

  

  Poland has selected “Fatherland,” Paweł Pawlikowski’s post-WWII drama starring Sandra Hüller, as its entry for the Oscars international feature race.

  The black-and-white film — which follows German novelist Thomas Mann (Hanns Zischler) and his daughter Erika (Hüller) on a road trip across Germany in 1949 — world premiered in competition at Cannes Film Festival in May, where Pawlikowski won the best director award.

  Written by Pawlikowski and Henk Handloegten, the film also stars August Diehl (“A Hidden Life, Inglourious Basterds”), Devid Striesow (“All Quiet on the Western Front”) and Anna Madeley (“Patrick Melrose,” “All Creatures Great and Small”).

  On “Fatherland,” the Polish director reunited with his longtime filmmaking team, including cinematographer Łukasz Żal, costume designer Aleksandra Staszko and production designers Katarzyna Sobańska and Marcel Sławiński. Though the film is set in Germany, the production mainly shot in Poland.

• Minotaur (France)

  

  France has selected Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Cannes Grand Prize winner “Minotaur” to represent the country in the international feature film race at the Oscars.

  “Minotaur” prevailed in a particularly eclectic and wide-open field that also included Antonin Baudry’s two-part historical epic “De Gaulle,” Arthur Harari’s “The Unknown,” Marine Atlan’s “La Gradiva” and Louis Clichy’s animated feature “Iron Boy.”

  The selection of “Minotaur” reflects France’s growing role as a production and financing hub for filmmakers from outside the country. “In what promises to be a highly competitive field, this selection underscores both France’s unique role in major global co-productions and our country’s commitment to supporting the great filmmakers of our time, while maximizing our chances of winning the Oscar for Best International Feature Film,” said Gaetan Bruel, the president of the National Film Board (CNC).
  

• Gondhal (India)

  

  The Film Federation of India has selected the Marathi-language drama “Gondhal” as the country’s entry for the international feature category at the 99th Academy Awards.

  Written and directed by Santosh Davakhar, the drama unfolds over a single night in rural Maharashtra, following a newlywed couple whose traditional wedding ritual becomes the setting where old customs, private desires and hidden fragility all come to a head. The cast includes Ishita Deshmukh, Yogesh Sohoni, Kishor Kadam, Suresh Vishwakarma, Nishad Bhoir, Anuj Prabhu and Vitthal Kale.

  “Gondhal” picked up a Golden Peacock nomination at the International Film Festival of India’s 56th edition, and Davakhar took home the event’s Silver Peacock for best director. The film later won a Fipresci prize when Bengaluru’s international film festival held its 17th edition, along with best director and best cinematographer honors from Pune’s international film festival and a further best director win at the Third Eye Asian International Film Festival.

• La Bola Negra (Spain)

  

  “La Bola Negra,” Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi’s Cannes Festival sensation, is Spain’s international feature Oscar submission.

  That comes as little surprise Scoring a 16-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Festival, where it shared its best director award “La Bola Negra” again moved waves when Netflix, its U.S. distributor, announced it would give “La Bola Negra” a 47-day U.S. theatrical window the longest for any movie in the streaming giant’s history, a sure indication that the film will feature strongly among the streamer’s awards priorities for the fall.

  “La Bola Negra” is already being talked up as a candidate for Oscar nomination in multiple other categories. Sweeping, unapologetically passionate and hugely ambitious, “La Bola Negra” braids three connected stories, each shot in different film registers, chronicling the travails and legacy of Spain’s gay experience in 1932, 1937 during the Spanish Civil War, and 2017. It picks up on the first four pages in an unfinished novel by legendary poet-playwright Federico García Lorca plus some of his nearly last poems.

  The film features a feisty turn from Penélope Cruz as a cabaret dancer and a cameo from Glenn Close as a modern-day hispanist, accompanying Spanish stars Miguel Bernardeau, Guitarricadelafuente, Milo Quifes and Carlos Gutiérrez in lead roles.

• Four Seasons in Java (Indonesia)

  

  Indonesia has selected Kamila Andini‘s “Four Seasons in Java” (“Empat Musim Pertiwi”) as its submission for the international feature category at the 99th Academy Awards.

  Written and directed by Andini and produced by Ifa Isfansyah for Forka Films, the film stars Putri Marino, Arya Saloka, Christine Hakim and Hana Malasan. The story centers on Pertiwi (Marino), a formerly incarcerated woman who comes back to a hometown that will not welcome her, pushing her to reckon with a painful personal history set against ongoing silence, violence and social division. Elements of mystery, magical realism and science fiction run through the psychological drama as it examines trauma, memory and what it takes to reclaim a sense of home and identity.

  The selection extends Andini’s run as one of Indonesian cinema’s most consistent presences on the international festival circuit. Her 2021 feature “Yuni” premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, where it won the Platform Prize, and went on to become Indonesia’s Oscars submission that year. Her film “Before, Now & Then” (Nana) played in competition at the Berlin International Film Festival, where Laura Basuki won the Silver Bear for best supporting performance.

  “Four Seasons in Java” had its world premiere in the Centrepiece program at the ongoing Toronto Film Festival and is set to screen at the Busan International Film Festival next month. It has also picked up a best cinematography nomination at the 2026 Asian Pacific Screen Awards.

• Silent Friend (Hungary)

  

  Ildikó Enyedi’s “Silent Friend” is Hungary’s submission for the 2027 Oscars in the best international feature film category. Enyedi’s “On Body and Soul,” which won Berlin’s Golden Bear, was Oscar nominated in the same category in 2018.

  “Silent Friend,” which stars Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Luna Wedler, Enzo Brumm and Léa Seydoux, is a poetic exploration of the relationship between humans, plants and time. It received six awards at the 82nd Venice Film Festival, and was recently selected as one of five nominees for the FIPRESCI Grand Prix, recognizing the best films of the year.

• Filipiñana (Philippines)

  

  Rafael Manuel’s “Filipiñana” has been chosen as the official entry from the Philippines in the international feature category at the 99th Academy Awards. The film is written and directed by Manuel and is distributed by Kino Lorber.

  The film is set against a backdrop of oppressive heat and drought. The narrative follows Isabel, a 17-year-old from the provinces of the Philippines, who gets a job at a prestigious golf resort.

  The cast includes Jorrybell Agoto, Carmen Castellanos, Teroy Guzman, Carlitos Siguion-Reyna, Isabel Sicat and Nour Houshmand.

  Executive produced by Chinese auteur Jia Zhangke, “Filipiñana” bowed in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, where it took home the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Creative Vision. The film went on to make its European premiere in the Perspectives section of the Berlin Film Festival.

  The film’s festival run has continued to build momentum since. It played the San Francisco International Film Festival, picking up the New Directors Award, and the Independent Film Festival of Boston, where it won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature. “Filipiñana” also collected the Luna de València for Best Feature Film at the Cinema Jove International Film Festival.
  

• Elephants in the Fog (Nepal)

  

  Nepal’s International Feature Film Selection Committee has chosen Abinash Bikram Shah’s “Elephants in the Fog” as the country’s entry for the 99th Academy Awards.

  The film marks Shah’s feature directorial debut and follows a Kinnar community in a Nepalese village fighting to protect itself. It premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival in May, where it won the section’s Jury Prize, and also picked up nominations for the Caméra d’Or and the Queer Palm. The cast is led by Pushpa Thing Lama, Deepika Yadav, Jasmine Bishwokarma, Aliz Ghimire and Dura Sanjay Kumar Gupta.

  The Oscars selection comes as “Elephants in the Fog” continues to expand its footprint in international markets. Sales company Best Friend Forever has closed deals in several territories, including MetFilm Distribution in the U.K., Filmin in Spain, Vedette in Benelux, Trigon in Switzerland, Lev Cinema in Israel, Jayantii in Australia, EFAR Films in India, PT Falcon in Indonesia and the Film Development Council of the Philippines, alongside an inflight deal with Silk Route. Those additions build on earlier deals covering France, Germany and Austria, Brazil and Nepal itself. The film is produced by Underground Talkies Nepal, Les Valseurs and Die Gesellschaft DGS.

• We Are All Strangers (Singapore)

  

  “We Are All Strangers,” written and directed by Anthony Chen, has been selected as Singapore‘s entry in the international feature category at the 99th Academy Awards.

  Set in contemporary Singapore, the film centers on family relationships and unexpected life changes. It stars Chen’s frequent collaborators Yeo Yann Yann and Koh Jia Ler, with Andi Lim and Regene Lim rounding out the cast. Earlier this year, it became the first Singaporean film selected for the main competition at the Berlin Film Festival.

  “We Are All Strangers” completes Chen’s Growing Up trilogy, which began with “Ilo Ilo” in 2013 and continued with “Wet Season” in 2019. The two earlier films have collectively won more than 50 international accolades, including five Golden Horse Awards, along with “Ilo Ilo‘s” Caméra d’Or win at Cannes. Both films previously served as Singapore’s Oscars entries, at the 86th and 93rd Academy Awards respectively.

• No Paradise if You Are Killed By a Woman (Iraq)

  

  Kurdish-Norwegian director Halkawt Mustafa’s “No Paradise If You Are Killed by a Woman,” a Hollywood-style thriller about a female Kurdish sniper who returns to Mosul to try and rescue her younger sister, has been selected by Iraq as the country’s official entry in the international feature category at the 99th Academy Awards.

  “No Paradise If You Are Killed by a Woman” follows a female sniper named Vyan who returns to the battlefield she once escaped, driven by vengeance and by the desperate hope of rescuing her younger sister who is still imprisoned by ISIS. The thriller launched out-of-competition at the Venice Film Festival and also plays in Toronto.

  Avan Jamal (“The Exam”) stars as Vyan, alongside Norwegian actor Thorbjørn Harr. The film’s main cast also comprises Kanar Sarchl and Kader Jalal.

  Mustafa, who was born in Iraqi Kurdistan and fled to Norway as a child, wrote the film that is inspired by his encounter with a female Peshmerga sniper on the front line in 2014, according to a statement from the Norwegian Film Institute which supported the film’s production.

  The film was shot on location in Mosul, Iraq, “using the city’s real streets and surroundings to create the physical and emotional authenticity Mustafa felt could only be achieved there,” the statement noted.

  Mustafa previously directed the feature “El Clásico” and the documentary “Hiding Saddam Hussein” that was successfully released in movie theatres across the Arab world.

  “No Paradise” is produced by Halkawt Mustafa, Janne Hjeltnes and John M. Jacobsen for Hene Films in Norway, in co-production with La Media in Iraqi Kurdistan and The Chimney Pot in Sweden.

  Italy’s True Colours is handling international sales.
   

• Strawberries (Morocco)

  

  Laila Marrakchi’s “Strawberries” (“La más dulce”), about a group of Moroccan seasonal laborers hired to pick strawberries in Spain who decide to stand up to their abusive employers, has been selected by the Moroccan Cinematographic Center as its official entry in the international feature category at the 99th Academy Awards.

  Marrakchi, after portraying Morocco’s upper classes in “Marock” and “Rock the Casbah” (2013) – and then veering into TV by directing episodes of Damien Chazelle’s “The Eddy” for Netflix and of several French TV series including “The Bureau” – in “Strawberries” turns her eye to the true story of young women who leave Morocco for a strawberry farm in Southern Spain in hopes of providing a better life for their families, only to contend with harassment and inhumane living conditions.

  The female-driven drama, which is It is produced by France’s Lumen and Morocco’s Mont Fleuri Production with Spain’s Fasten Films and Belgium’s Mirage Films, launched earlier this year from Cannes’ Un Certain Regard.

  Lucky Number is handling international sales.

  Morocco has yet to score an Oscar nomination, though it has made the shortlist three times most recently in 2023 with Asmae El Moudir’s “The Mother of All Lies.”

• Tell Me Everything (Israel)

  

  Moshe Rosenthal’s “Tell Me Everything” has been voted Best Picture at Israel’s Ophir Awards, automatically making it the country’s submission for best international feature film category at the 99th Academy Awards.

  “Tell Me Everything,” set in the 1980s against the rising HIV epidemic, premiered at Sundance in the world cinema dramatic competition. It is Moshe Rosenthal’s sophomore feature. “Karaoke,” his directorial feature debut, premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival.

  “Tell Me Everything” follows Boaz (played by Yair Mazor), a 12-year-old who discovers a devastating secret about his father. Catching up with Boaz as an adult (played by “The Vanishing Soldier’s” Ido Tako), the film delves into their father-son relationship as they attempt to heal wounds and repair bonds. Assi Cohen (“Yossi & Jagger”) stars as Boaz’s father.

• Fjord (Romania)

  

  “Fjord,” written and directed by Cristian Mungiu, is Romania’s submission for the 2027 Oscars in the best international feature film category, having been unanimously chosen by the country’s selection committee.

  The film premiered in the official competition at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Palme d’Or for best film, the FIPRESCI Prize, the Ecumenical Jury Prize, the Prix de la Citoyenneté and the François Chalais Prize.

  Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve star in the lead roles, with cinematography by Tudor Vladimir Panduru, editing by Mircea Olteanu, and production design by Simona Pădurețu.

• Aontas (Ireland)

  

  “Aontas,” the Irish-language heist thriller from director Damian McCann, has been chosen as Ireland’s entry for the best international feature film category at the 2027 Academy Awards.

  The film was selected by the Irish Film & TV Academy (IFTA) and a committee including “Evil Dead Rise” director Lee Cronin, “Derry Girls” creator Lisa McGee, BAFTA-nominated director Brian Kirk (“Game of Thrones), BAFTA nominated director Kathryn Ferguson (“Nothing Compares”), Emmy-winning actress and filmmaker Aisha Tyler (“Friends”), actress Fionnuala Flaherty (“Kneecap”) and IFTA chief executive Áine Moriarty.

  Told in reverse chronology, “Aontas” follows three unlikely thieves, led by a woman on the verge of a breakdown, who rob a rural Irish bank. Opening in the tragic aftermath of the heist-gone-wrong. What starts as a poorly executed robbery becomes a portrait of a wilful woman trapped in her own past. It stars Carrie Crowley (“The Quiet Girl “), Bríd Brennan, Eva-Jane Gaffney, Seán T. Ó Meallaigh, Marcus Lamb and Art Parkinson.

• The Stories (Egypt)

  

  Abu Bakr Shawky’s drama “The Stories” — which is inspired by how the director’s Egyptian father and Austrian mother began their love affair as pen pals — has been selected as Egypt‘s entry for the Academy Award for best international feature film.
  When Shawky’s father Ahmed was an aspiring pianist in Cairo in 1967, he became pen-pals with a young Austrian woman named Liz, who is Shawky’s mother. The film spans from the late ’60s to the ’80s, and depicts life in his native country during that period from the cross-cultural prism that has formed his vision as an artist.

  Shawky made an international splash with his first feature, “Yomeddine,” which had the rare distinction of making the competition cut for Cannes in 2018. He followed up with Saudi-set travel movie “Hajjan,” which premiered at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival in 2023.

  “The Stories,” which is written and directed by Shawky, is toplined by British-Egyptian actor Amir El-Masry (“The Crown”), Austria’s Valerie Pachner (“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore”) and Egyptian star Nelly Karim (“Voy! Voy! Voy!”). The film is produced by Julie Viez, Mohamed Hefzy, Alexander Glehr, Johanna Scherz, Shahinaz El Akkad and Ahmed Badawy. The production companies involved are Cinenovo, Film Clinic, Lagoonie Film Production, Film Square, Shofha Productions, Film AG, Fox in the Snow and Wrong Men.

  “The Stories” world premiered at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in 2025, went on to win the Golden Tanit for best film at the Carthage Film Festival in Tunisia and also played at the Red Sea fest last December.

• The Meltdown (Chile)

  

  Chile’s Film Academy has selected “The Meltdown” (“El deshielo”) by Manuela Martelli, her post-Pinochet mystery drama set in an Andes ski resort, to represent the country in the Best International Feature category at the 2027 Academy Awards. Martelli’s follow-up to her acclaimed drama “Chile, 1976” had its world premiere at Cannes’ prominent strand Un Certain Regard this year.

  “The Meltdown” stars Maya O’Rourke – in her film debut – who plays a nine-year-old at her family’s ski resort who witnesses unsettling events that will test her loyalties. Other cast members are Paulina Urrutia, Mauricio Pešutić, Paula Zúñiga, Marcela Salinas and Lautaro Cantillana.

• All of a Sudden (Japan)

  

  Hamaguchi Ryusuke‘s “All of a Sudden” has been selected as Japan’s entry in the international feature category at the 99th Academy Awards, the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (Eiren) has revealed.

  The selection marks the second time a Hamaguchi film has represented Japan in the category, five years after “Drive My Car” won the international feature Oscar and picked up nominations for best picture, director and adapted screenplay at the 94th Academy Awards.

  “All of a Sudden” is a France-Japan co-production made with backing from Germany and Belgium, shot largely in Paris. The film draws on “When Life Suddenly Takes a Turn: Twenty Letters Between a Philosopher With Terminal Cancer and a Medical Anthropologist,” a book of correspondence by Miyano Makiko and Isono Maho. It follows Marie-Lou Fontaine (Virginie Efira), who runs a nursing home outside Paris and pushes to adopt a more dignity-focused model of elderly care, and Morisaki Mari (Okamoto Tao), a Japanese theater director undergoing cancer treatment. Nagatsuka Kyōzō and Kurosaki Kōdai round out the cast.

• Everytime (Germany)

  

  Sandra Wollner’s “Everytime” has been selected as Germany’s entry for the Academy Award for best international feature film.

  The film’s synopsis reads as follows: The last photograph Jessie took shows the sun over Berlin. It hangs there as if nothing had happened. But Ella has lost her daughter. What remains is Jessie’s younger sister and a complicated relationship with the boy everyone blames. The unlikely trio ends up on a family holiday that never really existed. Under the shimmering sun of Tenerife, memory and the present become inseparably intertwined. The ghosts are everywhere.

  “Everytime” celebrated its world premiere at the 79th Cannes Film Festival in May. Wollner’s third feature film, for which she also wrote the screenplay, was selected for the Un Certain Regard sidebar where it won the Prix Un Certain Regard, the section’s top award. Cannes was followed by invitations to the Sydney Film Festival and the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, among others. At the Sarajevo Film Festival, “Everytime” was awarded the Heart of Sarajevo Grand Prize. Its North American premiere will follow in September at the Toronto Film Festival. Other festival appearances include the New York Film Festival.

• Becoming Human (Cambodia)

  

  The Cambodia Oscar Selection Committee (COSC) has selected “Becoming Human,” directed by Polen Ly, as the country’s official submission for the international feature film category at the 99th Academy Awards.

  The film follows Thida, the spirit guardian of an aging cinema slated for demolition, as she weighs the choice of rebirth against her existence as a ghost. Her bond with Hai, a living man she meets along the way, pushes her to confront both her spiritual fate and a country in the midst of sweeping social change.

  “Becoming Human” is Ly’s debut feature. He previously made the short film “Further and Further Away” in 2022 and the documentary “Until the Orchid Blooms,” which premiered at IDFA in 2024 and won the grand prize at the Taiwan International Documentary Festival in 2026. The cast is led by 15-year-old newcomer and dance student Savorn Serak alongside Piseth Chhun, who won the Venice Horizons award for best actor in 2021 for his role in Kavich Neang’s “White Building.”

• First Light (Australia)

  

  “First Light,” the feature directorial debut of Filipino-Australian filmmaker James J. Robinson, has been selected as Australia’s entry in the international feature film category at the 99th Academy Awards, marking the first Filipino-Australian co-production and the first Tagalog-language film the country has ever submitted for Oscar consideration.

  The film follows Sister Yolanda (Ruby Ruiz), a nun and nurse leading a peaceful, disciplined existence until a young construction worker’s suspicious death draws her into uncovering corruption reaching both the community’s wealthy elite and the church she has devoted her life to.

  The film premiered at the 2025 Melbourne International Film Festival, where Robinson took home the best Australian director award. It later screened in the main competition lineup at Marrakech and went on to play the New Zealand International Film Festival, the International Film Festival Rotterdam and the Glasgow Film Festival.

• Possible Love (South Korea)

  

  The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) has selected “Possible Love,” directed by Lee Chang-dong, as South Korea‘s official entry for the international feature film category at the 2027 Academy Awards.

  “Possible Love” marks Lee’s first feature in eight years, following “Burning,” “Poetry” and “Secret Sunshine.” The film centers on two married couples whose lives intersect after a funeral: Mi-ok and her laid-off husband Ho-seok (Sul Kyung-gu), who live quietly with their young son Cheol, and Ye-ji, a filmmaker making a documentary about workers who lost their jobs, and her husband Sang-woo (Zo In-sung). When Mi-ok agrees to be filmed by Ye-ji, the two women grow close, while Mi-ok finds herself unsettled by an attraction to Sang-woo. As the two couples’ worlds overlap, cracks begin to surface in both marriages.

  In its evaluation, the committee cited the film’s polished craftsmanship and the clarity of its directorial vision, pointing to the tone and mise-en-scène that sustain a sense of pressure throughout the story. The drama was described as prompting reflection on gentle forms of violence, incomplete freedom and the nature of true happiness, alongside a labor movement sequence that the committee said captured layered social undercurrents.

• Like a Limbless Tree (Turkey)

  

  “Like a Limbless Tree,” an intimate social drama directed by Tunç Davut, has been selected as Turkey‘s entry for the Academy Award for best international feature film.

  Davut, whose previous works include the 2015 drama “Entanglement and TV series “Serçe” and “Kinali Kuzular,” delves into the fragility of human existence against a backdrop of the theme of immigration in “Like a Limbless Tree.” The film is produced by Istanbul-based Tekhne Film and stars Ali Ipin, Fayyaz Duman and Selen Kurtaran.

  Davut’s drama – which won an award at the Bosphorus Film Festival and was selected for the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival and the Ankara Film Festival – is about a retired engineer named Refik whose life changes forever after being diagnosed with a terminal disease just as his Syrian caregiver disappears while attempting to flee to Europe, leaving him in charge of her two children.

• Who is Still Alive (Switzerland)

  

  “Who is Still Alive,” a documentary directed by Nicolas Wadimoff that gives voice to Gaza humanitarian crisis survivors and refugees, has been selected by the Swiss Federal Office of Culture as Switzerland‘s entry for the Academy Award for best international feature film.
  The documentary, which looks at the lives of nine Palestinian people who escaped the crisis in Gaza and explores the loss of home against the backdrop of the Gaza War, had its world premiere in Venice at the 2025 Giornate degli Autori, AKA Venice Days, sidebar.

  For director Nicolas Wadimoff, “Who is Still Alive” is his third film dealing with Palestine, following “Aisheen (Still Alive in Gaza)” about the aftermath of Israel’s 2008 air strikes on the Gaza Strip and “The Apollo of Gaza” in 2018.

  “Who is Still Alive” was produced by Nicolas Wadimoff, Philippe Coeytaux, and Ketsia Stocker of the Geneva-based production company Akka Films, where Nicolas Wadimoff also serves as founder and producer. Co-producers include Easy Rider Films (Paris), Philistine Films (Palestine/Jordan), Cocoon Films (London), and RTS Radio Télévision Suisse.

• How to Divorce During the War (Lithuania)

  

  Andrius Blaževičius’ “How to Divorce During the War” has been selected as Lithuania’s entry for the Academy Award for best international feature film.

  Blaževičius’ third feature won the directing award in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival. The film was picked up for theatrical distribution in North America by Zeitgeist Films, in association with Kino Lorber, and will be released on Aug. 21.

  Set in Vilnius in 2022, it’s a story of a high-flying executive Marija, who chooses the worst possible moment for an honest conversation with her husband Vytas about divorcing – just one day before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine goes into full scale. Now the couple must navigate the process of separation as it collides with a refugee and mid-life crisis.

• Independence: Keeper of the Prophecy (Mongolia)

  

  Mongolia’s National Film Council has selected “Independence: Keeper of the Prophecy” as the country’s submission for the international feature Film Oscar at the 99th Academy Awards.

  The historical drama is directed by Tamir Bat-Ulzii and written by Todko Samson. It was made to mark the 115th anniversary of Mongolia’s restoration of independence and received a grant from the Mongolian Film Fund. The Film Council described the film as exploring “figures who laid the foundation for modern Mongolia’s independence, their ultimate fates, the choices made by the nobility of the era, and the secrets and sacrifices behind these historical events.”

  Set in 1911, the film centers on a covert resistance movement working to end more than two centuries of Manchu rule under the Qing Dynasty. Bogd Khan and minister Namnansuren lead the effort, pursuing diplomatic talks with Russia and building an underground intelligence network as they move through espionage, political intrigue and eventual armed conflict in pursuit of Mongolian sovereignty.

  Bat-Ulzii also stars in the film, playing Namnansuren. The cast includes Erdenebileg Ganbold, Sarantuya Sambuu, Suvd Namsrai, Odonchimeg Battsengel, Ganchimeg Altangerel and Todgerel Erdenetuya.