Poland’s ‘Under The Volcano’ Enters Oscar’s Best International Feature Competition

Read the full article here. International sales: Best Friend Forever 

Chile: In Her Place (Maite Alberdi)

The filmmaker will hope to continue her Oscar success, having been nominated twice before in best documentary The Mole Agent in 2020 and The Eternal Memory in 2024 – the former also earning her spot on the international shortlist. Making her fiction debut, In Her Place is a crime drama based on the true story of a famous writer who is put on trial for killing her lover. It will have its world premiere in competition at San Sebastian before landing on Netflix. It is produced by Pablo Larraín, who was nominated for Chile in 2012 with No, and his brother Juan de Dios Larraín at Fabula. Elisa Zulueta and Francisca Lewin lead the cast and are joined by Marcial Tagle, Gabriel Urzúa, Pablo Macaya. Chile won the Oscar in 2017 with Sebastián Lelio’s A Fantastic Woman. International sales: Netflix 

Costa Rica: Memories Of A Burning Body (Antonella Sudasassi Furniss)

Winner of the Berlinale Panorama audience award, this Spanish-language drama centres around three elderly women who rediscover their bodies and sexuality through the lens of one 65-year-old woman. It is a co-production between Costa Rica’s Substance and Spain’s PlayLab and was supported by Costa Rica’s El Fauno national fund, Ibermedia and Catalan fund ICEC. The film won a handful of prizes at Ventana Sur in its post-production stages. Cast includes Sol Carballo and Paulina Bernini. This is Furniss’ second time representing the country at the Oscars after her debut The Awakening Of The Arts was submitted in 2019, with Costa Rica yet to secure a nomination. International sales: Bendita Film Sales 

Ecuador: Behind the Mist (Sebastián Cordero)

Ivan Vallejo, the first Ecuadorian to reach the top of Mount Everest in 1999, decided to commemorate the achievement with a documentary made by Cordero. The film chronicles their journey to Nepal to face the mountain again. Cordero is known for features including Ratas, Ratones, Rateros, which played at Venice and Toronto in 1999; Cronicas, selected for Cannes in 2004; and Rage, winner of the special jury prize at Tokyo in 2009. It marks Ecuador’s 12^th submission to the Oscars, which has yet to make the shortlist. International sales: TBC

Panama: Wake Up Mom (Arianne Benedetti)

This thriller follows a mother who stops at nothing to retrieve her daughter after she goes missing following an accident. Benedetti previously represented Panama in 2017 with Beyond Brotherhood. She wrote, directed, produced and stars in Wake Up Mom which also stars her real-life daughter Mila Romedetti and Erick Elías. It is produced by TreeHouse Studios Panamá. The country has submitted 10 times previously, making the shortlist in 2021 with Plaza Cathedral. International sales: TBC

Peru: Yana-Wara (Óscar Catacora, Tito Catacora)

Óscar made history in 2018 with Eternity – the first film in the Aymara language and Peru’s Oscar submission for that year. The filmmaker passed away in the early production stages of his second Aymara-language feature Yana-Wara, with his uncle Tito taking the helm to carry on with the shoot. The story centres around an old man tried for murdering his 13-year-old granddaughter and the stories of abuse that surface during the trial. The film had its European premiere at Malaga Film Festival. It is produced by Cine Aymara Studios with a cast made up entirely of non-professional actors. Peru was nominated for an Oscar in 2009 for The Milk Of Sorrow. International sales: Quechua Films

Uruguay: The Door Is There (Juan Ponce de Leon, Facundo Ponce de Leon)

Marking the county’s 23^rd submission is a documentary surrounding a friendship between two men as one of them helps the other to die. The film premiered in San Sebastian’s Made In Spain strand last year and went on to screen at Malaga Film Festival. Mueca Films produces with Spain’s A Contracorriente Films. Uruguay was nominated in 1992 with Adolfo Aristarain’s A Place In The World though it was subsequently rescinded after an investigation uncovered that the production was almost entirely Argentinian. International sales: TBC

ASIA-PACIFIC

Cambodia: Meeting With Pol Pot (Rithy Panh)

This is the Cambodian-French director’s fourth submission to the Oscars including a nomination in 2013 for The Missing Picture. The film is inspired by journalist Elizabeth Becker’s book When The War Was Over and follows three French journalists who were invited to interview Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot in 1978. The film first showed at Cannes in Premiere and also screened in competition at Mediterrane festival. The cast includes Grégoire Colin, Irene Jacob and Cyril Gueï, while production companies are CDP and Anupheap Production. Cambodia made the shortlist last year with Davy Chou’s Return To Seoul.  International sales: Playtime 

Japan: Cloud (Kiyoshi Kurosawa)

This thriller follows a young man who resells goods online, who finds himself at the centre of a series of mysterious events that put his life at risk. It was selected to premiere out of competition at the Venice Film Festival, where filmmaker Kurosawa previously won the Silver Lion for best director with Wife Of A Spy in 2020. His past accolades also include the Cannes Un Certain Regard jury prize for Tokyo Sonata (2008) and the Un Certain Regard award for best director for Journey To The Shore (2015). Cloud is produced by Nikkatsu Corporation and Tokyo Theatres Company, and has been acquired for France, Spain, Italy and Taiwan. Japan received an Oscar nomination in this category last year with Wim Wenders Perfect Days and won the Academy Award in 2022 with Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car. Yojiro Takita’s Departures previously won the Oscar for Japan in 2008. International sales: Nikkatsu

Kyrgyzstan: Heaven Is Beneath Mother’s Feet (Ruslan Akun)

After its submission last year was ruled to be ineligible, Kyrgyzstan has ensured this year’s entry qualifies for the category with a film that opened in March, within the Academy’s release window. Locally titled Beyish Enenin Tamanynda, the drama centres on a 35-year-old man whose mental development stopped when he was eight. Wanting to ensure his elderly mother can go to heaven, he sets off on foot with her on a journey to Mecca. It marks the 17^th entry by the country since 1998, which has yet to make the shortlist. International sales: TBC

Nepal: Shambhala (Min Bahadur Bham)

Shambhala became the first Nepali film to play in Competition at a major film festival when it debuted at Berlin in February; and was the Berlinale’s first South Asian Competition entry in three decades. Set in a polyandrous Himalayan village, the film follows a pregnant woman who goes seeking her vanished husband, in the company of her monk brother-in-law. It was shot in the Upper Dolpo region of the Himalayas, between 4,200 to 6,000 metres above sea level. Nepal’s only Oscar nomination or shortlisting from 13 previous entries came with its first submission, Eric Valli’s Himalaya/Caravan for the 2000 ceremony. International sales: Best Friend Forever

South Korea: 12.12: The Day (Kim Sung-soo)

Based on true events, this historical drama takes place on December 12, 1979 when military commander Chun Doo-hwan staged a coup d’etat to seize power less than two months after long-time dictator Park Chung-hee’s assassination. The date is considered a pivotal one in modern Korean history, opening another era of dictatorship. The film was released in November 2023 and went on to become the year’s biggest title at the local box office, eventually taking $95.7m from 13.1 million admissions (25% of South Korea’s entire population). South Korea won the Oscar in 2020 with Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite, which also picked up best picture, and has also made the shortlist twice – in 2018 for Lee Chang-dong’s Burning and last year with Park Chan-wook’s Decision To Leave. International sales: Plus M Entertainment

Taiwan: Old Fox (Hsiao Ya-Chuan)

This family drama is set in the late 1980s and follows an 11-year-old boy who befriends his landlord, nicknamed Old Fox, and learns from him how to survive in a rapidly changing world. The cast is led by child star Bai Run-Yin (Dear Tenant) and veteran actor Akio Chen as well as Liu Kuan-Ting (A Sun). Executive producer is Cannes award-winner Hou Hsiao-Hsien (The Assassin). The film premiered at Tokyo International Film Festival and went on to win four prizes at Taiwan’s coveted Golden Horse Awards including best director and best supporting actor for Chen. Taiwan last made the shortlist in 2020 with Chung Mong-Hong’s family drama A Sun. Prior to that, the previous shortlisted entry was Wei Te-sheng’s Warriors Of The Rainbow: Seediq Bale in 2012. The last to achieve a nomination was Ang Lee’s martial-arts epic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which went on to win the award and three further Oscars in 2001. International sales: Eric Chou, Tomorrow Together Capital

EUROPE

Armenia: Yasha And Leonid Brezhnev (Edgar Baghdasaryan)

This comedy drama follows a retired Armenian man who is reluctant to accept to end of the USSR and imagines political conversations with former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and other prominent communist figures. The film premiered at Yerevan’s Golden Apricot International Film Festival and won five prizes at Armenia’s Anahit National Film Awards, including best director for Baghdasaryan and best actor for Mais Sarkisyan. It marks Baghdasaryan’s second time in the Oscar race after his historical drama Lengthy Night was submitted in 2019. Armenia made the shortlist for the first time last year with Michael A Goorjian’s Amerikatsi. This is the country’s 14th entry to the Oscars, though it has been disqualified twice, in 1991 and 2016, for not meeting the submission criteria. International sales: TBC

Austria: The Devil’s Bath (Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz)

Read the full article here. International sales: Playtime

Belgium: Julie Keeps Quiet (Leonardo Van Dijl)

Read the full story here. International sales: New Europe Film Sales 

Bulgaria: Triumph (Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov)

Borat and The Apprentice star Maria Bakalova leads the cast of this black comedy inspired by a real group of psychics who helped Bulgarian army officers locate an alien artifact in the 1990s. The film makes its world premiere at Toronto Platform and completes the directing duo’s trilogy of films inspired by bizarre news stories from their homeland, following 2017’s Glory and 2020’s The Lesson – both of which also represented Bulgaria at the Oscars. Other cast include Julian Kostov and Julian Vergov. Bakalova also produces the feature alongside the directors’ Abraxas Film and Greece’s Graal Films. The country made the shortlist just once, in 2009 with The World Is Big And Salvation Lurks Around The Corner. International sales: Bankside 

Croatia: Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day (Ivona Juka)

Set in the 1950s, the country’s 34th entry follows four young filmmakers in Yugoslavia who have their film censored for featuring scenes depicting dissatisfaction with the army. They are then offered the chance for “rehabilitation” by making propaganda films instead. The film’s working title was Strangers In the Night and received a €5,000 prize at Cologne’s European Work In Progress awards. It is produced by Ivona’s sister Anita Juka at 4Film with support from the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, the MEDIA sub-programme of Creative Europe, the Adris Foundation, Telefilm Canada, Ontario Creates, the Ministry of Culture – Cyprus Film Department, and the Sarajevo and Tuzla Canton Film Funds. Yet to secure a nomination, Croatia’s first submission in 1991 was disqualified as the country was still in the process of receiving international recognition. International sales: TBC

Czech Republic: Waves (Jiří Mádl) 

This historical thriller won the audience award at Karlovy Vary, where it had its world premiere, and is based on a true story set during the Prague Spring. It centres around a group of journalists who are determined to keep independent news running during the Soviet invasion. It is produced by Dawson Films and co-produced by Wandal Productions. Vojtech Vodochodský leads the cast alongside Táňa Pauhofová, Stanislav Majer, Ondřej Stupka, Martin Hofmann, Petr Lněnička, Marika Šoposká, Tomáš Maštalír, Igor Bareš, and Vojtěch Kotek. Kolija won the Oscar for the Czech Republic in 1996 while the country has been nominated a further two times and made it to the shortlist twice. International sales: Urban Sales 

Estonia: 8 Views Of Lake Biwa (Marko Raat)

Inspired by German writer Max Dauthendy’s 1911 book of the same name, 8 Views Of Lake Biwa centres on two girls by an Estonian lake, as their isolated fishing village attempts to come to terms with a recent disaster. Stalwart Estonian producers Ivo Felt and Dora Nedeczky of Allfilm produced the title with Mark Lwoff and Misha Jaari of Finland’s Bufo, with a world premiere in the Harbour strand at International Film Festival Rotterdam in January followed by a local release in March. Raat has been making features since 2002, with this his ninth effort and first time representing his country for the Oscars. The closest Estonia has come to Oscar glory from 21 previous entries was Zaza Urushadze’s Tangerines, nominated in 2015; while Tanel Toom’s Truth And Justice made the shortlist for the 2020 awards. International sales: TBC 

Georgia: The Antique (Rusudan Glurjidze)

The Antique became embroiled in a drama before it had even played, when two minority co-producers on the film brought an Italian court decree that led to its suspension from Venice’s Giornate degli Autori independent sidebar. The film’s world premiere on August 28 was postponed; then it was reinstated one week later after negotiations between Giornate and the Italian court. The film follows a Georgian smuggler transporting antiques to St. Petersburg in Russia, where he meets an immigrant in an antique workshop. Georgia scored an Oscar nomination with its first-ever entry in the category – Nana Jorjadze’s A Chef In Love for the 1997 awards. Since then its best result was when Giorgi Ovashvili’s Corn Island made the shortlist for the 2015 ceremony; while Glurjidze also directed 2017 entry House Of Others. international sales: MPM Premium

Germany: The Seed Of The Sacred Fig (Mohammad Rasoulof)

Read the full article here. International sales: Films Boutique

Greece: Murderess (Eva Nathena) 

A period drama about an ageing midwife who battles the patriarchy in a remote Greek village, based on the classic novella of the same name by Alexandros Papadiamantis. The directorial debut of leading art director and costume designer Eva Nathena, it won five prizes at Greece’s Iris Awards. Its selection was controversial after a dispute between the culture ministry and Hellenic Film Academy (Helfiac) saw 20 titles pull out of the submission process. International sales: Tanweer

Hungary: Semmelweis (Lajos Koltai)

Koltai represents his country for the second time, following 2005’s entry Fateless, and has previously been nominated in cinematography for 2000’s Malena. This period biopic centres around a famous Hungarian doctor who introduced antiseptic procedures at a Vienna maternity clinic. The film is the highest-grossing Hungarian film in the country for the past five years with more than 350,000 admissions. It is produced by Tamás Lajos, Szupermodern Filmstúdió and Joe Vida, and was supported by Hungary’s National Film Institute. Hungary has won the Oscar twice – in 1981 for Mephisto and in 2013 for Son Of Saul ­– and has scored a further eight nominations, the last in 2017 for Ildikó Enyedi’s On Body And Soul. International sales: NFI

Iceland: Touch (Baltasar Kormakur)

Icelandic stalwart Kormakur represents his country for a fifth time on the Oscar stage with Touch, a romantic drama following one man’s journey to find his first love who disappeared 50 years ago. The film opened in Iceland in May, and has played festivals in Sydney, Munich and Haugesund. Kormakur’s most recent entry, The Deep, recorded Iceland’s joint-best performance in the last 32 years when making the shortlist for the 2013 awards. The country has one nomination from 44 total entries, for Fridrik Por Fridriksson’s Children Of Nature in 1992; with Fridriksson remarkably beating out Kormakur for entries, with six total submissions. Signs of success are coming, with two shortlisted entries in the last three ceremonies – Valdimar Johannsson’s Lamb in 2022, and Hlynur Palmason’s Godland last year. Focus Features boarded the film prior to production in late 2022. International sales: Focus Features

Ireland: Kneecap (Rich Peppiatt)

Read the full article here. International sales: Charades

Latvia: Flow (Gints Zilbalodis)

This animated feature first premiered at Cannes Un Certain Regard before going on to screen at Annecy where it won four prizes including the Competition jury and audience award. The story centres around a cat who teams up with a capybara, a lemur, a bird, and a dog after a flood destroys his home. Zilbalodis produced Flow alongside co-writer Matiss Kaza as well as Ron Dyens and Gregory Zalcman. The film, which Sideshow and Janus Films have North American rights on, is also screening at Toronto. It marks Latvia’s 16th submission with the country yet to score a nomination. International sales: Charades

Lithuania: Drowning Dry (Laurynas Bareisa)

The aftermath of a near-tragic accident at a family weekend getaway is explored in this drama, which won filmmaker Bareisa best director at Locarno Film Festival in August. Bareisa previously won Venice’s Orizzonti award for best film with his debut feature Pilgrims in 2021, which was also submitted to the Oscars. He also serves as cinematographer on Drowning Dry, which is a co-production between Lithuania’s Afterschool Productions and Latvia’s Trickster Pictures. Lithuania made its first Oscar entry for the 2007 awards but has yet to receive a nomination in the category. International sales: Alpha Violet

Netherlands: Memory Lane (Jelle de Jonge)

Martin van Waardenberg and Leny Breederveld star as an elderly husband and wife, the latter suffering from dementia, who embark on a road trip to visit a dying friend. The film drew in more than 100,000 admissions when it premiered in Dutch cinemas. It is produced by Hazazah Pictures in coproduction with the EO, Umami Media and Belgium’s Menuetto Film. The country won the Oscar twice – in 1995 and 1997 with Antonia’s Lane and Character, respectively – and has been nominated four times. International sales: Incredible Film

Portugal: The Grand Tour (Miguel Gomes)

Full article here. International sales: The Match Factory

Romania: Three Kilometers To The End Of The World (Emanuel Parvu)

Winner of this year’s Cannes Queer Palm, having premiered in Competition at the festival, the actor-turned-filmmaker’s latest drama surrounds a teenage boy whose life in a conservative Danube Delta community is turned upside when he is violently attacked for being gay. The film also took home best feature film at Sarajevo and best director at Jerusalem film festival. Three Kilometers is produced by Famart Association and stars Bogdan Dumitrache, Ciprian Chiujdea, Laura Vasiliu, and Valeriu Andriuta. This marks Romania’s 40^th submission to the Oscars. The country picked up a nomination in 2020 for Alexander Nanau’s Collective and made the shortlist in 2012 for Beyond The Hills. International sales: Goodfellas 

Serbia: Russian Consul (Miroslav Lekić)

Lekic’s second submission for Serbia, following 2002’s Labyrinth, is set in 1973 and centres around the growing conflict between the Kosovo Serbs and the Albanians. The film stars Žarko Laušević in his last role before passing away. It is produced by Visionteam and Telekom Srbij with support from Film Centre Serbia. The country has yet to land a nomination but did make the shortlist in 2007 with The Trap. International sales: TBC

Slovakia: The Hungarian Dressmaker (Iveta Grofova)

Marika, a Hungarian widow dressmaker shelters a Jewish boy in her home on the Slovak-Hungarian border during the turbulent years of the Second World War and Slovak state’s partnership with the Third Reich. This Karlovy Vary premiere is a fourth feature for Slovak director Grofova, and second time she has represented her country for the Oscars after Made In Ash for the 2013 ceremony. Despite having entered almost every year since its independence from Czechslovakia in 1993, Slovakia has yet to receive a nomination from 27 submissions. International sales: Reason8 Films

Slovenia: Family Therapy (Sonja Prosenc)

Marking Prosenc’s third submission for Slovenia, this comedic satire surrounds a seemingly perfect family whose flaws and dynamics are exposed by the arrival of a young stranger. The film had its world premiere at Tribeca in the international narrative competition and went on to screen at Sarajevo where it won the arthouse cinema award. Family Therapy is produced by Monoo and stars Mila Bezjak, Aliocha Schneider, Marko Mandić and Katarina Stegnar. Having submitted nearly 30 tines, Slovenia has yet to land a nomination. International sales: Monoo

Ukraine: La Palisiada (Philip Sotnychenko)

Sotnychenko’s debut feature is set in 1996, five months before the suspension of the death penalty, and follows two friends investigating the murder of their colleague. The film first premiered at Rotterdam in 2023 where it won the Fipresci prize. It was also nominated in the European Discovery section at the European Film Awards. La Palisiada is produced by Halyna Kryvorchuk, Sashko Chubko and Valeria Sochyvets with support from the Ukrainian cultural fund and production support from the Ukrainian film fund. Sweden’s Goteborg film fund provided post-production support. Cast includes Andrii Zhurba, Novruz Hikmet, Valeria Oleinikova and Oleksandr Parkhomenko. Ukraine made the shortlist last year with 20 Days In Mariupol which went on to win best documentary. International sales: Reason8

MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA

Algeria: Algiers (Chakib Taleb-Bendiab)

This psychological thriller centres on the kidnapping of a girl, which sparks tension and suspicion in Algiers. It follows a psychiatrist and police inspector as they attempt to solve the mystery while unearthing the demons of the city’s past. The film marks the feature debut of Taleb-Bendiab and screened at Rhode Island International Film Festival in the US, where it won best film. Algeria won the Oscar in 1970 with its first ever submission, Costa Gavras’ Z, and has since secured four nominations. International sales: Mad World

Iraq: Baghdad Messi (Sahim Omar Kalifa)

The country’s 13th entry follows a young boy who is determined not to give up on his dream of playing football after losing his leg in a terrorist attack. The film is adapted from Kalifa’s short of the same name which was shortlisted for an Oscar in 2014. Belgium producer Kobe Van Steenberghe penned the screenplay once again and produced the title through his outfit A Team Productions. Other producers are Brussels-based company 10.80 Film, Germany’s Motisfilm and Dutch outfit Column Film. International sales: Goodfellas 

Kenya: Nawi (Vallentine Chelluget, Apuu Mourine, Kevin Schmutzler, Toby Schmutzler)

The six-strong Kenyan Oscar committee has selected drama Nawi, which released in its home territory at the end of August 2024. Based on the winning story of a nationwide writing contest and using a mixture of Swahili and English dialogue, Nawi follows a young girl growing up in rural Kenya navigates the conflict between tradition and the right to choose her future. It is Kenya’s ninth Oscar entry, with no nominations to date. International sales: TBC

Morocco: Everybody Loves Touda (Nabil Ayouch)

French-Moroccan filmmaker Ayouch is representing his country at the Oscars for the sixth time with this musically-driven drama, which premiered at Cannes. The story centres on a poet and singer raising her deaf-mute son in a small village, who dreams of being a sheikha (a traditional Moroccan performer) in Casablanca. Ayouch co-wrote the script with his wife and actress-filmmaker Maryam Touzani, whose The Blue Caftan, produced by Ayouch, made the international feature Oscars shortlist for Morocco in 2023. Of the 19 films submitted by the country since 1977, none have received a nomination but have made it to the shortlist three times: Roschdy Zem’s Omar Killed Me in 2012; The Blue Caftan in 2023; and Asmae El Moudir’s The Mother Of All Lies in 2024. International sales: mk2 Films

Palestine: From Ground Zero (Masharawi Fund)

The inaugural project from Palestinian filmmaker Rashid Masharawi’s Gaza film fund is a compilation of 22 short films capturing the situation in Gaza amid the ongoing war with Israel. The films encompass documentary, drama, animation and experimental with the project having its North American premiere at Toronto’s Lightbox strand. France’s Coorigines Productions produced From Ground Zero alongside the Masharawi Fund in co-production with Turkey’s Metafora Productions, Jordan’s Royal Film Commission and UAE’s Sharjah Art Foundation. Palestine has been nominated twice before, in 2005 for Hany Abu-Assad’s Paradise Now and in 2013 with Hany Abu-Assad’s Omar. International sales: Coorigines 

Senegal: Dahomey (Mati Diop)

Read the full story here. International sales: Les Films du Losange

Turkey: Life (Zeki Demirkubuz)

The Turkish filmmaker’s latest drama centres around a woman who runs away when she is forced to marry a man she hardly knows and the fiance who travels to Istanbul reluctantly to find her. Awarded best film at the Mediterrane festival, Life also screened in Rotterdam and was nominated for nine awards at the Turkish Film Critics Association, winning in best supporting actor for Cem Davran. Turkey has submitted to the Oscars over 30 times and was shortlisted in 2008 for Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Three Monkeys. International sales: Basak Emre Pundurs