by Nathaniel R
KINGS OF THE WORLD, Colombia's Oscar submission
Today, October 3rd, is the deadline for participating countries to get their Oscar submissions in for the Best International Feature Film category. We've mentioned before that the Academy (wrongly) chucked their longstanding tradition of publicly announcing the entire longlist for Best International Feature Film last season... if they don't release it again this year we might not know for certain for a few days or even a few weeks what is exactly on the list they're considering in the first round of voting. They'll narrow the list down to 15 films on December 21st, 2022 and then announce the actual nominations on January 24th, 2023. As of now we know of 81 countries that announced plans to submit a particular film and you can read about all of them on the charts.
If you've been playing along here with each article a shorter list of the last six films to be announced is after the jump...
🇨🇴 THE KINGS OF THE WORLD
Colombia (1 nomination and 1 additional finalist from 31 submissions)
This drama follows five your marginalized men making their way in the world. It was a hit at the San Sebastian film festival.
🇱🇧 MEMORY BOX
Lebanon (2 nominations from 18 submissions)
This one is from the directing duo of Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige (who have worked together since the very beginning of their careers). It's about three women connecting by a box full of audiotapes and photographs.
🇵🇰 JOYLAND
Pakistan (no results yet from 11 submissions)
In something of a surprise, Pakistan has submitted this years Queer Palm winner from Cannes. It's about a man who joins a dance theatre troupe and falls for its trans star. Though Pakistan is not a gay-friendly country, as of 2018 the "T" in LGBTQ was granted legal protections by Parliament... so perhaps in the future the things will get easier for the other letters of the rainbow.
🇵🇭 ON THE JOB 2: THE MISSING 8
Philippines (no results yet from 33 submissions)
The Philippines didn't submit last year which was a surprise after years of faithful submissions. This year they've opted for the film that took the Volpi Cup for Best Actor last year at Venice. The drama is about the corruption of the Duterte regime. Will its sequel-ness or its epic length be a problem for voters? It's the longest film submitted at three and a half hours.
🇸🇳 XALÉ
Senegal (2 finalists from 4 submissions)
Senegal only began subitting in 2017 but they've been warmly received thus far. Both Felicite (2017) and the hypnotic masterful Atlantics (2019) made the finals so Senegalese cinema has some momentum for a nomination if they keep making strong submission choices. Their latest entry is about a teenage girl whose grandmother dies.
🇻🇳 578 MAGNUM
Vietnam (1 nomination from 19 submissions)
They've chosen an action revenge film about a truck driver seeking the man who hurt his daughter. French Vietnamese actor Alexandre Nguyen (Painted Beauty, To the North) headlines.