INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
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A page dedicated solely on the 90+ submissions entered into the Academy Awards

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THE CANNES 2023 FILM FESTIVAL WRAP-UP

MAY 27, 2023
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Awards for the in competition films of the 76th Cannes Film Festival were announced live in Cannes at the Grand Palais theater today where Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall (France) won the Palme d’Or, the top prize of the festival.  Triet becomes just the third female director to win the Palme d'Or.  Here are all the winners:

  • Palme d'Or: Anatomy of a Fall (France) by Justine Triet
  • Grand Prize: The Zone of Interest (UK/Poland) by Jonathan Glazer
  • Jury Prize: Fallen Leaves (Finland) by Aki Kaurismäki
  • Director: The Pot-au-Feu (France) by Tran Anh Hung
  • Actor: Koji Yakusho - Perfect Days (Japan) 
  • Actress: Merve Dizdar - About Dry Grasses (Turkey)
  • Screenplay: Monster (Japan)

Last year, 9 of the top 15 shortlisted films debuted at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival so we've been paying a lot of attention at the films that were well received this year.

To continue reading, please click HERE.

SO WHO ARE THE EARLY CONTENDERS FOR 2023?

MAY 15, 2023
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(France - Passages)
As we continue on with the 2023 season, let's take a look at the first set of films that have already received very strong reviews.  There haven't been any official submissions yet, as countries will start to announce their choices around August, but let's take a look at the ten films so far that could be contenders if they're officially submitted:
  • Chile 76 (Chile)
  • The Shadowless Tower (China)
  • Stonewalling (China)
  • Passages (France)
  • Afire (Germany)
  • Heroic (Mexico)
  • Huesera: The Bone Woman (Mexico)
  • Walk Up (South Korea)
  • Unrest (Switzerland)
  • 20 Days in Mariupol (Ukraine)
Last year, we correctly predicted four submissions: You Won't Be Alone (Australia), Utama (Bolivia), Alcarras (Spain) and Klondike (Ukraine).  Let's see how many we get this year.

Our attention now shifts towards the Cannes Film Festival, which begins on May 16th.  Last year, 9 of the 15 shortlisted films debuted at the festival in France.  So, we'll now start to get a better idea of which films will be contenders for the new season.  

KEY DATES HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED FOR THE 96TH ACADEMY AWARDS

MAY 13, 2023
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The 96th Oscars will take place on Sunday, March 10, 2024.  The show will air live on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide from the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. 

The key date for the International Feature category will be on October 2, 2023.  All films eligible for best International Feature must be submitted before that date.  The next announcement will be on December 21, 2023.  This is when the 90+ submissions will get reduced down to 15.  The nominations will be announced on January 23, 2024.  This is when the final 15 will go down to the 5 nominees for the 96th Academy Awards.
  • International Feature Film Deadline: October 2, 2023
  • Oscar Shortlists Announcement: December 21, 2023
  • Nominations voting begins 9 a.m. PT: January 11, 2024
  • Nominations voting ends 5 p.m. PT: January 16, 2024
  • Oscar Nominations Announcement: January 23, 2024
  • Oscar Nominees Luncheon: February 12, 2024
  • Finals voting begins 9 a.m. PT: February 22, 2024
  • Finals voting ends 5 p.m. PT: February 27, 2024
  • 96th Oscars: March 10, 2024
There is one change with International Feature this year.  AMPAS now stipulates that selection committees for each country must now comprise of at least 50% of filmmakers (artists and/or craftspeople).

THE 92 SUBMISSIONS FOR 2022

MAY 10, 2023
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(Albania - A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On)
The 92 submissions for 2022 can be found HERE.

With only 15 films making the shortlist, there will always be a lot of amazing submissions that just miss out.  So here's a few of our favourite films that were definitely contenders and were probably so close to getting recognized as well:
  • A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On (Albania)
  • Utama (Bolivia)
  • Mars One (Brazil)
  • The Kings of the World (Colombia)
  • Beautiful Beings (Iceland)
  • World War III (Iran)
  • The Exam (Iraq)
  • Harvest Moon (Mongolia)
  • Narcosis (Netherlands)
  • Alcarras (Spain)
All of the remaining submissions can be seen HERE.

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It was a phenomenal year of films and we're now looking ahead to see which films we will fall in love with in 2023.  The first set of submissions will be announced in early August.

AND WHO ELSE MADE THE SHORTLISTED TOP 15?

MAY 3, 2023
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(Morocco - The Blue Caftan)
On December 21, 2022, along with the five films mentioned previously, these 10 films also made the short-list, to make the top 15 for the 2022 International Feature category:
  • Corsage (Austria)
  • Return to Seoul (Cambodia)
  • Holy Spider (Denmark)
  • Saint Omer (France)
  • Last Film Show (India)
  • Bardo (Mexico)
  • The Blue Caftan (Morocco)
  • Joyland (Pakistan)
  • Decision to Leave (South Korea)
  • Boy From Heaven (Sweden)
There isn't a weak film amongst these 10 films and it's one of the strongest line-ups that The Academy has ever chosen.  All of these films are right now playing in select theatres and/or video on demand.

LET'S HAVE A QUICK RE-CAP ON LAST SEASON

MAY 1, 2023
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(Germany - All Quiet on the Western Front)
Since it's the "off-season" right now, I think it'll be best to re-visit the films that were nominated last year at the Oscars:
  • Argentina, 1985 (Argentina)
  • Close (Belgium)
  • All Quiet on the Western Front (Germany) - WINNER
  • The Quiet Girl (Ireland)
  • EO (Poland) 

​All Quiet on the Western Front also won the Oscar for best cinematography, best production design and best original score.  It was further nominated for best picture, best adapted screenplay, best makeup and hairstyling, best sound and best visual effects.  Bardo (Mexico) was nominated for best cinematography.

All five films are available now on video on demand.

ELIGIBILITY?  HOW DOES IT WORK?

APRIL 25, 2023
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The International Feature category for the Academy Awards can be a little bit of a complicated process, but here’s an easy way to see how it works. 

Every year, all 197 countries around the world have the ability to submit one movie of its choice to the Oscars under International Feature.  Last year, in 2022, 92 countries submitted a film.  The movie has to be released within their own country between January 1st and December 31st on the same calendar year.  The film has to be predominantly in a non English language, so Canada, Ireland, Australia can submit a movie, but they need to be in French, Irish, Persian etc. 

The deadline to submit a movie is usually October 1st.  This is a very nerve wracking part of the season as countries like Italy, France and Spain have tons of amazing films to choose from so it’s always interesting to see which one they end up picking.  

After the deadline has passed, all submitted films are then seen by an executive committee who then choose the top 15 on December 21st.  From there, those 15 shortlisted films are then reduced again to the final 5 by members of the Academy, and they're announced on the morning of the Oscar nominations.  From there, the winner is then announced at the Oscars.

WELCOME TO OUR SECOND YEAR - A SITE DEDICATED SOLELY ON THE INTERNATIONAL FEATURE SUBMISSIONS FOR THE OSCARS

APRIL 20, 2023
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(Edward Berger - All Quiet on the Western Front)
We're now slowly getting ready to start with the new season for International Feature.  All of our news and stories from last season can be found under the news tab or by clicking HERE.

I’ve been following the Oscar Awards for around 15 years now but my passion for the International Feature category started 6 years ago.  I began watching around 30 of the submissions and I was overwhelmed by the amount of amazing films I saw that year.  The following year I watched 50 of them.  And in the past four years I’ve managed to watch around 90 submissions.   These films are all so unique and remarkable and astounding works that should be celebrated and seen by everyone who's a movie fan. 

This website is dedicated to the 90+ films that are submitted to the International Feature category every year for the Academy Awards.  It will feature information on each film, including trailers, release dates, film festival dates, reviews, predictions, our own film festival and more.   This will make it easy for all movie fans to find the information needed for any film that they want to watch.  So let's get started with the new season.

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