International Feature Race - Part 1. The Numbers, Genres, and Trivia

by Nathaniel R

Can "Decision to Leave" become the second nominee from South Korea?

We can no longer wait around twiddling our thumbs for the Academy's official press releases. AMPAS used to be so prompt with the Best International Feature Film category. In the past few years they've dropped the ball. The deadline for submission was six weeks ago and though Academy members have already been screening the films for a month there's still no press release from AMPAS about the "official list". If they continue this unfortunate new habit that means that nearly a hundred films each year will fail to get two months of media attention that they fully deserve before most of them are eliminated. The Academy will narrow down this year's 92 accepted submissions to just 15 on December 21st (barely a month away). And from those 15 they'll announce the 5 nominees on January 24th. You can see the current predictions here and the full charts detailing all 92 contenders. We assume that Malta's entry, Carmen, was not accepted due to too much English language since it's the only submission from our research that's not on their screening list. 

Anyway, if you smoosh all 92 films together into one imaginary film you'd get something like the following:

A family drama, with a political angle (and probably involving immigration of some kind), which comes from a early to mid-career director who is still rising. The film will be trilingual with dialogue in Arabic, French, and Spanish. It will be 107 minutes long. 

We'll adjust the following stats and trivia IF Oscar's official press release begs to differ by a film or two (which sometimes happens) whenever it arrives. Or maybe they just won't release it this year? So Let's talk stats, trivia, genres, and themes...

CONTENDERS YOU CAN WATCH RIGHT NOW

12 of the 92 films are currently available to US audiences. Here's where you can see them...

"Girl Picture" is absolutely worth the rental charge - see it!

• All Quiet on the Western Front (Germany) - Netflix
• Argentina 1985 (Argentina) - Amazon Prime
• Bantú Mama (Dominican Republic) - Netflix 
• Bardo (Mexico) - in theaters now / Netflix on Dec 16th
• Decision to Leave (South Korea) - in theaters now
• EO (Poland) - in theaters now
• Girl Picture (Finland) - available to rent
• Holy Spider (Denmark) - in theaters now
• Looking for Venera (Kosovo) - MUBI
• Missing Home (Indonesia) - Netflix
• Utama (Bolivia) - in theaters now
• You Won't Be Alone (Australia) -available to rent

At this writing only Corsage (Austria) will join these titles in availability before year's end -- just 14% of the list delivered to the public in a timely fashion (this excludes those sneaky unpublicized one-week qualifying releases). There might be more public interest in the category if release strategies would ever change! 

If past history is any indication, several other films among the official submissions will opt for a January, February, or March theatrical bow in the US (despite the good odds that they'll be culled in December's finalist announcement -- 84% of the films will be!). Films do this in the hopes that an Oscar finalist position or a nomination will buoy them. But if they're eliminated in December (with the finalist list) or the nominations (at the end of January)  many will drop those plans or open without fanfare. It's always a risky strategy. We say "just release the films once the distribution contracts are in place!"  rather than counting on something you can't control (Oscar's favor). 

Above all else we hope that if a film is lucky enough to be nominated it actually is released in theaters during awards season. Actual nominees that inexplicably opened AFTER the season had wrapped nearly always flopped -- For proof see the bottom of this list of the box office earnings of this last decade's International Feature Film nominees) 

MISCELLANEOUS TRIVIA ABOUT THE CONTENDERS

MOST MULTI-LINGUAL FILMS

Vicky Krieps give quite a star turn in "Corsage"

• Corsage  (Austria) - The fictional biopic of Empress Sissy has dialogue in five different languages (English, German, French, Hungarian, and Italian). Luxembourgish actress Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread, Bergman Island) is giving Christoph Waltz a run for his money in terms of extremely casual onscreen fluency. Plus, she's brilliant in the film.
• EO (Poland) - This portrait of contemporary Europe through the eyes of a donkey has dialogue in French, Polish, Italian, and English... if the donkey is fluent in all four, he isn't saying.
• Klondike (Ukraine) - This war drama has dialogue in Chechen, Russian, Ukrainian, and Dutch.

Quite a few of the other movies are bi or tri-lingual. It's especially fun when the languages play an important plot role in the movie, as in South Korea's Decision to Leave with its most engimatic character being a Chinese immigrant to Korea and sometimes requiring translation.

MOST COMMONLY SPOKEN LANGUAGES 

a scene from Panama's "Birthday Boy"

1. Spanish -Spoken in 14 of the films
   (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Deominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, Uruguay, Venezuela)
2. French - Spoken in 9 of the films
   (Algeria, Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, Dominican Republic, France, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Poland)
3. Arabic - Spoken in 8 films
   (Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Tunisia)
4. German - Spoken in 6 films
   (Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Norway, Slovenia, Switzerland)
5. [TIE] Russian and Mandarin - Spoken in 5 films each
   (Russian is heard in the Estonia, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Moldova, and Ukraine entries. Mandarin is heard in the submissions from Canada, China, Singapore, South Korean, and Taiwan.)
6. Italian - Spoken in 4 films
   (Czech, Italy, Poland, Serbia)
7. [TIE] Persian and Korean - Spoken in 3 films each
   (Persian is heard in the submissions from Denmark, Iran, and United Kingdom / Korean is featured in the films from Cambodia, Singapore, and South Korea)

Tanzania's romantic drama "Tug of War" is one of two features in Swahili

Many different languages factor into two separate contenders. That includes Swahili this year which is not a common language in this category. That's because Tanzania has submitted for only the second time while Uganda has sent their very first film for Oscar consideration. The Academy has been making efforts to be more inclusive of African cinema, going so far as to allow for English-based pidgins spoken in many African films. Speaking of English, though, you can of course hear that peppered about in dozens of the submitted films, though films can be ruled ineligible if a majority of their dialogue is in English.

SHORTEST CONTENDERS
(All submissions that are under 90 minutes)

"Bantu Mama", the shortest live-action narrative feature submitted, is now streaming on Netflix

1. Creators (Azerbaijan) - 61 minutes
2. Icarus (Luxembourg) - 76 minutes
3. Bantu Mama (Dominican Republic) - 77 minutes
4. Magnetic Fields (Greece) - 78 minutes
5. Moon Heart (Peru) - 80 minutes
6. [TIE] Terastorm (Kenya) and Home for Sale (Kyrgysztan) - 82 minutes each
7. [TIE] Unseen (Ecuador) and Eami (Paraguay) - 83 minutes each
8. [TIE] Alma Viva (Portugal) and Winners (UK) - 85 minutes each
9. [TIE] Eternal Spring (Canada) and Domingo and the Mist (Ecuador) and EO (Poland) - 86 minutes each
10. Utama (Bolivia) -87 minutes
11. The Exam (Iraq) - 89 minutes 

LONGEST CONTENDERS
(All submissions that are over 2 Hours) 

"The Missing 8", which made waves at Venice in 2021, is the longest film submitted this year at nearly 3 and a half hours

1. On the Job: The Missing 8 (Philippines) - 208 minutes
2. Life (Kazakhstan) - 175 minutes
3. Bardo (Mexico) - 159 minutes
4. War Sailor (Norway) - 150 minutes
5. All Quiet on the Western Front (Germany) - 147 minutes
6. Where the Wind Blows (Hong Kong) - 144 minutes
7. Argentina 1985 (Argentina) - 140 minutes
8. Decision to Leave (South Korea) - 138 minutes
9. A Piece of Sky (Switzerland) - 136 minutes
10. Hawa (Bangladesh) - 131 minutes
11. Il Boemo (Czech Republic) - 130 minutes
12. The Planter's Plantation (Cameroon) - 129 minutes
13. One for the Road (Thailand) - 128 minutes
14. [TIE] Joyland (Pakistan) and Boy From Heaven (Sweden)- 126 minutes each
15. Beautiful Beings (Iceland) - 123 minutes
16. Saint Omer (France) - 122 minutes

The "short" movie group (17% of the movies) and the "long" movie group (18%) are roughly equal sized. The other 65% of the films fall in the standard movie length range of 1½ to 2 hours. 

GENRES & TYPES

The bulk of submitted films each and every year are traditional dramas or variations thereofs (mysteries, dramedies, etcetera). They're usually thematically heavy too since that's what naturally rises to the top. That's a true bias of ALL mainstream awards bodies, not just Oscar -- the belief that dramas are automatically more deserving than 'lighter' fare. The following films bring some needed variety to the mix this season either by their form or through their genres. 

ANIMATED FEATURES 

Luxembourg submitted "Icarus", the second animated feature they've sent. The first was "Renart the Fox" in 2005

• Aurora's Sunrise (Armenia) - animated doc about a silent film actress
• Eternal Spring (Canada) -animated doc about religious persecution
• Icarus (Luxembourg) - animated film about mythology
• Terastorm (Kenya) - animated picture about superheroes and wizards

While there is often one animated submission in this competition (sometimes even two) this is the most that have ever been submitted in a single year. Aurora's Sunrise and Eternal Spring are also documentaries. Perhaps these two submissions were emboldened by the success of Oscar-nominated animated documentaries Waltz with Bashir (2008) and Flee (2021). Curious bit of trivia: no animated feature that wasn't a documentary has ever been nominated for this prize.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES

The animated documentary "Aurora's Sunrise" is about a genocide survivor who becomes a silent film star

• Aurora's Sunrise (Armenia) 
• Creators (Azerbaijan)
• Eternal Spring (Canada) 
• Silence of the Mole (Guatemala)

Not as many docs submitted this time (last year there were 7) despite three consecutive years of a documentary snatching up a nomination (Honeyland, Collective, Flee) in this category. Documentaries used to never be nominated in this category so the acceptance of them as part of this competition in the past few years has been a very sudden change in voter habits.

UNUSUAL GENRES (FOR THIS CATEGORY)

There's usually 1 horror submission. This year that's "You Won't Be Alone"

• 578 Magnum (Vietnam) - action film
• Moon Heart (Peru) - fantasy
• The Planter's Plantation  (Cameroon) - a musical
• Terastorm (Kenya) - superhero picture
• You Won't Be Alone (Australia) - a horror film

This particularly Oscar category is even more resistant to genre films than Best Picture or the acting categories are. That's partially because most countries only send dramas, and partially due to Oscar's bias against genre films. There have been a few examples of genre films that have snuck through and landed nominations but they're rare.  

LGBTQ+ THEMED CONTENDERS 

Pakistan's "Joyland" has been lauded at festivals and caused public outcry against and for its release at home.

• Blue Caftan (Morocco) 
• Close (Belgium) 
• Girl Picture (Finland)
• Joyland (Pakistan)
• Mars One (Brazil)

It's possible queer characters exist in one or two of the other 92 films but these five are the only ones we know of (at this writing) that qualify as LGBTQ+ cinema: Blue Caftan centers on a closeted tailor's marriage; Close is about an intimate teenage friendship between two boys that goes awry; Girl Picture is a coming-of-age film about three girls, two of whom are dating; Joyland is about a married man who falls for a trans woman; Finally Mars One is a family drama in which the daughter is a lesbian. 

LGBTQ+ films are not often nominated and only two have ever won -- interestingly enough both of the winners were in Spanish and represent the "T" in LGBTQ+ cinema: Pedro Almodóvar's All About My Mother (1999) and Sebastian Lelio's A Fantastic Woman (2017). That said there is some evidence that the Academy is warming up to queer cinema. In the past three years we've had two more gay male nominees in this category: Pain & Glory (2019) and Flee (2021). It's also become common for at least one queer film to make the finalist list (indicating they came close to a nomination even if there wasn't enough support to go all the way). Recent examples of the latter include Ireland's Cuban drag queen drama Viva (2015), Canada's family drama It's Only the End of the World (2016), South Africa's male ritual drama The Wound (2017), Czech Republic's historical biopic Charlatan (2020), France's lesbian drama Two of Us (2020), and Austria's masterful prison drama Great Freedom (2021) which was one of those films that tried the dread "releasing after you've been eliminated" trick in the US this past spring. 

HERE'S THE FULL LIST
A few more interviews and some reviews coming up

CHART 1 - Albania through Georgia

• A Cup of Coffee With Shoes On (Albania)
• Our Brothers (Algeria)
• Argentina 1985 (Argentina)
• Aurora's Sunrise (Armenia)
• You Won't Be Alone (Australia)
• Corsage (Austria)
• Creators (Azerbaijan)
• Hawa (Bangladesh)
• Close (Belgium) 
• Utama (Bolivia)
• A Ballad (Bosnia & Herzegovina)
• Mars One (Brazil)
• In the Heart of the Machine (Bulgaria)
• Return to Seoul (Cambodia)
• The Planter's Plantation (Cameroon)
• Eternal Spring (Canada) 
• Blanquita (Chile)
• Nice View (China)
• Kings of the World (Colombia)
• Domingo and the Mist (Costa Rica)
• Safe (Croatia)
• Il Boemo (Czech Republic)
• Holy Spider (Denmark)
• Bantú Mama (Dominican Republic)
• Unseen (Ecuador)
• Kalev (Estonia)
• Girl Picture (Finland)
• Saint Omer (France)
• A Long Break (Georgia)

CHART 2 - Germany through Norway

• All Quiet on the Western Front (Germany)
• Magnetic Fields (Greece)
• Silence of the Mole (Guatemala)
• Where the Wind Blows (Hong Kong)
• Blockade (Hungary)
• Beautiful Beings (Iceland)
• The Last Film Show (india)
• Missing Home (Indonesia)
• World War III (Iran)
• The Exam (Iraq)
• Quiet Girl (Ireland)
• Cinema Sabaya (Israel)
• Nostalgia (Italy)
• Plan 75 (Japan)
• Farha (Jordan)
• Life (Kazakhstan)
• Terastorm (Kenya)
• Looking for Venera (Kosovo)
• Home for Sale (Kyrgysztan)
• January (Latvia)
• Memory Box (Lebanon)
• Pilgrims (Lithuania)
• Icarus (Luxembourg)
• Bardo (Mexico)
• Carbon (Moldova)
• Harvest Moon (Mongolia)
• Elegy of Laurel (Montenegro)
• Blue Caftan (Morocco)
• Butterfly on a Window Pane (Nepal)
• Narcosis (Netherlands)
• Muru (New Zealand)
• The Happiest Man in the World (North Macedonia)
• War Sailor (Norway)

CHART 3 - Pakistan through Vietnam

• Joyland (Pakistan)
• Mediterranean Fever (Palestine)
• Birthday Boy (Panama)
• Eami (Paraguay)
• Moonheart (Peru)
• On the Job: The Missing 8 (Philippines)
• EO (Poland)
• Alma Viva (Portugal)
• Immaculate (Romania)
• Raven Song (Saudi Arabia)
• Xalé The Childhood Wounds (Senegal)
• Darkling (Serbia)
• Ajoomma (Singapore)
• Victim (Slovakia)
• Orchestra (Slovenia)
• Decision to Leave (South Korea) 
• Alcarras (Spain)
• Boy From Heaven (Sweden)
• A Piece of Sky (Switzerland)
• Goddamn Asura (Taiwan)
• Tug of War (Tanzania)
• One for the Road (Thailand)
• Under the Fig Trees (Tunisia)
• Kerr (Turkey)
• Tembele (Uganda)
• Klondike (Ukraine)
• Winners (UK)
• Employer and Employee (Uruguay)
• The Box (Venezuela)
• 578 Magnum (Vietnam)

COUNTRIES THAT DIDN'T SUBMIT THIS YEAR THAT OFTEN DO...
Cuba, Egypt, Malaysia, Russia, and South Africa

Okay that's it for the part one of the trivia. In part two we'll talk directors and actors. 

Comments

[Travis C]

I've seen 16 of the contenders so far (and hope to squeeze BARDO and DECISION TO LEAVE in soon). My "ratings" would be:

AND THE NOMINEES ARE... (BUT I CAN'T DISTINGUISH A WINNER, BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL EXCELLENT)

Australia (YOU WON'T BE ALONE), Ireland (THE QUIET GIRL), New Zealand (MURU), Pakistan (JOYLAND), Ukraine (KLONDIKE)

WORTHY OF GETTING TO THE SHORTLIST

Belgium (CLOSE), Cambodia (RETURN TO SEOUL), Denmark (HOLY SPIDER), Germany (ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT - good but not much that we haven't seen before in good war movies), Italy (NOSTALGIA), Palestine (MEDITERRANEAN FEVER), Poland (EO), Sweden (BOY FROM HEAVEN)

NOT BAD, BUT IF THIS WAS THE BEST FROM YOUR COUNTRY THIS YEAR, YOU'VE NOT HAD A GOOD YEAR

Senegal (XALE THE CHILDHOOD WOUNDS)

IF I WAS TO MOUNT A STUPID CASE FOR THIS CATEGORY BEING BORING, THESE ARE THE FILMS I WOULD USE AS EXHIBITS
'
Kosovo (LOOKING FOR VENERA), Lebanon (MEMORY BOX)