FEAR
Since we last posted there have been five more countries announcing their submissions for our favourite Oscar category that doesn't include "actress" in the title. Find out about those movies after the jump.
BULGARIA
Bulgaria has opted to send a film called Fear by Ivaylo Hristov. It's about a widow on the Bulgarian/Turkish border who meets an African refugee. And yes, it's yet another 2021 film that's shot in black and white (so many this year!)...
CROATIA
Croatia will submit the drama Tereza37 which is about a woman who decides to shake up her life after several miscarriages.
CZECH REPUBLIC
They've selected David Ondricek's Zatopek which is a biopic of sorts about a famous Czech runner and an Australian runner who comes to visit him in Prague.
FINLAND
As expected they've gone with the Cannes-premiering hit and train-set drama Compartment No 6. The film won the Grand Prix at Cannes. Reviewed here at Cannes.
JAPAN
They've chosen the festival favourite Drive My Car by Ryusuke Hamaguchi. I've resisted it until now because it's a full three hours long and at least one of those hours appears to be within a single car. But everyone who has seen it seems to love it. Reviewed here at NYFF.
GEORGIA
Georgia will decide tomorrow but the finalists are What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?, Person No. 2, and Brighton 4th.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Many countries that haven't made their public announcement yet have already passed internal deadlines (or are about to) as to when films were supposed to be submitted to their nominating committees (of various kinds) so we might be hearing from Azerbaija, Bangladesh, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ghana, Jordan, Kenya, Lithuania, Malawi, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Montenegro, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Paraguay, Romania, South Africa, Tunisia, Turkey, and Uruguay soon.
Italy, always important to keep an eye on since they've won more Oscars than any other country, should be revealing the long list of films they're considering sometime this week.
You can see the submission charts (currently being updated) and predictions at TFE and follow along on Letterboxd here if you'd like.