The First Oscar Eligibility Lists are Here!

by Cláudio Alves

PIECE BY PIECE is the only film competing in both the ANIMATED and DOCUMENTARY Oscar races.

At long last, AMPAS has started divulging its eligibility lists for the 97th Academy Awards. As is usual, the first categories to be announced are the special feature races – Animated, Documentary, and International Film (click on each category to see their prediction pages). This year, 31 cartoons vie for the Oscar, while 167 docs form the non-fiction race. In Best International Feature Film, this year has 85 official submissions. This state of affairs differs from some of the earlier reports that pointed toward 89 films contending, but we're used to many disqualifications. It's a steep decline from the past few years, and it's the first time since 2018 that the number of total submissions is below 90. We have to go back to 2015, with 82 nations competing, to find a year with even fewer films in contention.

You can read more about such trivia in Nathaniel's extensive two-part overview of the Best International Film race. Still, I added some additional trivia for all three categories in this write-up. Find out more after the jump…

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

• Art College 1994
• Captain Avispa
• Chicken for Linda!
• The Colors Within
• The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie
• Despicable Me 4
• Flow – ANNECY REVIEW
• The Garfield Movie
• Ghost Cat Anzu
• The Glassworker
• The Imaginary
• Inside Out 2
• Kensuke's Kingdom
• Kung Fu Panda 4
• Living Large
• Look Back
• The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
• Mars Express
• Memoir of a Snail
• Moana 2
• Piece by Piece
• Rocket Club: Across the Cosmos
• Sirocco and the Kingdom of Winds
• Spellbound
• Sultana's Dream
• That Christmas
• Thelma the Unicorn
• Transformers One
• Ultraman: Rising
• Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
• The Wild Robot – TIFF REVIEW

Seven films are French productions or co-productions, though Japanese is the most spoken language after English. In total, six works of anime are included. 

There are two documentaries on this list - Piece by Piece and Sultana's Dream. Only the Pharrell Williams biopic-like Lego doc is eligible in the Best Documentary Feature race. 

Eight actors appear in two films. They are Eric Bauza, Brian Cox, Laraine Newman, Bill Nighy, Ikue Otani, John Ratzenberger, Ving Rhames, and Gedde Watanabe. 

Composer John Powell is one of the few major creative minds behind two films on this list. He worked on the scores for both That Christmas and Thelma the Unicorn. 

Having had its world premiere at last year's Berlinale, Art College 1994 is the oldest of these films. The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is the newest release, opening on December 5th.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is the longest film in contention, at 130 minutes. With only 58 minutes, Look Back is the shortest.

On Letterboxd, Inside Out 2 is the most popular title, while Rocket Club is the most obscure. Look Back is the best-rated of the films, while The Garfield Movie has the lowest score.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

• Adrianne & the Castle
• After the Rain: Putin's Stolen Children Come Home
• Agent of Happiness
• Am I Racist?
• American Cats: The Good, the Bad & the Cuddly
• Americans with No Address
• America's Burning
• And So It Begins – POLITICAL CONTEXT
• At the Door of the House Who Will Come Knocking
• Bad Actor: A Hollywood Ponzi Scheme
• Bad Faith
• Bad River
• Behind the Mist
• The Bibi Files
• Black Box Diaries
• Black Girls
• Blind Spot
• Blink
• Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion
• The Body Politic
• Bread & Roses
• Brief Tender Light
• Carol Doda Topless at the Condor
• Carville: Winning Is Everything, Stupid
• ¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!
• Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg
• Celebrating Laughter, The Life and Films of Colin Higgins
• The Commandant's Shadow
• Copa 71
• The Cowboy and the Queen
• Dahomey – NYFF REVIEW
• Daughters
• Death without Mercy
• Einhundertvier
• Elton John: Never Too Late
• Eno
• Ernest Cole: Lost and Found – TIFF REVIEW
• Escape from Extinction Rewilding
• Every Little Thing
• The Fabulous Gold Harvesting Machine
• Farming the Revolution
• Favoriten
• Federer: Twelve Final Days
• Fighting Spirit: A Combat Chaplain's Journey
• 500 Days in the Wild
• The Flats
• Flipside
• Following Harry
• Food and Country
• Food, Inc. 2
• Forgetting the Many: The Royal Pardon of Alan Turing
• Frank Miller: American Genius
• Frida
• From Ground Zero – TIFF REVIEW
• Gaucho Gaucho
• Girls State
• God & Country
• Gonzo for Democracy
• The Grab
• The Greatest Night in Pop
• Happy Campers
• Happy Clothes: A Film About Patricia Field
• Hidden Master: The Legacy of George Platt Lynes
• Hollywoodgate
• Homegrown
• How to Come Alive with Norman Mailer
• Hummingbirds
• I Am: Celine Dion
• I Can't Breathe
• In Between Stars and Scars: Masters of Cinema
• Indigo Girls: It's Only Life After All
• Intercepted
• Invisible Nation
• It Happened on Our Ground
• Jewel of the Desert
• Jim Henson Idea Man
• Join or Die
• Just a Bit Outside: The Story of the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers
• King of Kings: Chasing Edward Jones
• Kiss the Future
• The Landscape and the Fury
• The Last Journey
• The Last of the Sea Women
• The Last Ones
• Leap of Faith
• Left Behind
• Legacy: The De-Colonized History of South Africa
• Look Into My Eyes
• Lost Angel: The Genius of Judee Sill
• The Lost Legacy of Tony Gaudio
• Lovely Jackson
• Lover of Men, The Untold History of Abraham Lincoln
• Luther: Never Too Much
• Mad About the Boy – The Noel Coward Story
• Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger
• Majority Rules
• Marching in the Dark
• Martha
• Maya and the Wave
• Mediha
• Merchant Ivory
• Mom & Dad's Nipple Factory
• Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery
• Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa
• Music by John Williams
• My Sweet Land
• Natterer's Treasure
• Never Look Away
• A New Kind of Wilderness
• New Wave
• No One Asked You
• No Other Land – TIFF REVIEW + GOTHAM AWARDS REVIEW
• Nocturnes
• Nurse Unseen
• October H8te: The Fight for the Soul of America
• Of Color and Ink
• One Person, One Vote?
• 1489
• One with the Whale
• Ozogoche
• Patrice: The Movie
• A Photographic Memory
• Piece by Piece
• Porcelain War
• Power – REVIEW
• Queendom – QUEER LISBOA CAPSULE
• Ray of Hope
• The Remarkable Life of Ibelin
• Remembering Gene Wilder
• Resurgo Detroit: The Rise from Within
• Resynator
• Sabbath Queen
• Samuel: Hollywood vs Hollywood
• Seeking Mavis Beacon
• Separated
• She Rises Up
• The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru
• The Sixth
• 64 Days – The Insurrection Playbook
• Skywalkers: A Love Story
• Sorry/Not Sorry
• Soundtrack to a Coup d'État – REVIEW
• State Organs: Unmasking Transplant Abuse in China
• Stolen Time
• Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink
• Studio One Forever
• Sugarcane
• Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
• Sweetheart Deal
• Taking Venice
• The Taste of Mango
• The Tuba Thieves
• 2073
• Uncropped
• Unfightable
• Union – NYFF REVIEW
• Veselka: The Rainbow on the Corner at the Center of the World
• Vigilantes Inc.: America's New Vote Suppression Hitmen
• War Game
• We Will Dance Again
• Welcome to Babel
• Whale Restaurant
• Who's Afraid of Nathan Law?
• Will & Harper
• William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill
• The World According to Allee Willis
• The World Is Family
• Yintah
• Zurawski v Texas

After Anglophone countries, France is the nation most represented in this list, with 13 productions or co-productions competing. However, Spanish is the most common spoken language after English.

Five directors have two films in contention. Alexis Bloom directed The Bibi Files and Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg. R.J. Cutler directed Elton John: Never Too Late and Martha. Asif Kapadia directed Federer: Twelve Final Days and 2073. Jesse Moss directed Girls State and War Game. Finally, Jeff Zimbalist directed How to Come Alive and Skywalkers: A Love Story.

Looking at the various crews that worked in these films, it's worth pointing out that various cinematographers shot at least two contenders. Martina Radwan, however, shot three – Food and Country, Girls State, and One Person, One Vote.

Greenwich Entertainment is the most represented studio, with ten films in contention. Impact Partners is in second place with six. Regarding major studios or distributors, NEON takes the cake with Bad Actor, Seeking Mavis Bacon and 2073.

Weirdly enough, though the Golden Globes have no Documentary category, Am I Racist? Will vie for the Best Picture – Musical or Comedy prize.

Soundtrack to a Coup d'État is the longest film at 150 minutes, while Jewel of the Desert is the shortest, with a runtime of only 60 minutes.

Frank Miller: American Genius had its world premiere in the festival circuit back on October 22nd, 2021, making it the oldest release contending for the Oscar. Blind Spot, which will have its premiere on November 24th, is the newest contender.

On Letterboxd, Will & Harper is the most popular title, while Resurgo Detroit is the most obscure. In terms of ratings, No Other Land is the most acclaimed, while 2073 has the harshest reviews of all.

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM

• ALBANIA, Waterdrop
• ALGERIA, Algiers
• ARGENTINA, Kill the Jockey – VENICE REVIEW + TIFF REVIEW + TIFF CAPSULE
• ARMENIA, Yasha and Leonid Brezhnev
• AUSTRIA, The Devil's Bath
• BANGLADESH, The Wrestler
• BELGIUM, Julie Keeps Quiet
• BOLIVIA, Own Hand
• BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, My Late Summer
• BRAZIL, I'm Still Here – TIFF REVIEW
• BULGARIA, Triumph – TIFF REVIEW
• CAMBODIA, Meeting with Pol Pot
• CAMEROON, Kismet
• CANADA, Universal Language
• CHILE, In Her Place
• COLOMBIA, La Suprema
• COSTA RICA, Memories of a Burning Body
• CROATIA, Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day
• CZECH REPUBLIC, Waves
• DENMARK, The Girl with the Needle – CANNES REVIEW + TIFF REVIEW
• DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, Aire: Just Breathe
• ECUADOR, Behind the Mist
• EGYPT, Flight 404
• ESTONIA, 8 Views of Lake Biwa
• FINLAND, Family Time
• FRANCE, Emilia Pérez – CANNES REVIEW + TIFF REVIEW
• GEORGIA, The Antique
• GERMANY, The Seed of the Sacred Fig – TIFF REVIEW
• GREECE, Murderess
• GUATEMALA, Rita
• HONG KONG, Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In
• HUNGARY, Semmelweis
• ICELAND, Touch
• INDIA, Lost Ladies
• INDONESIA, Women from Rote Island
• IRAN, In the Arms of the Tree
• IRAQ, Baghdad Messi
• IRELAND, Kneecap
• ISRAEL, Come Closer
• ITALY, Vermiglio – TIFF REVIEW + INTERVIEW
• JAPAN, Cloud – TIFF REVIEW
• KAZAKHSTAN, Bauryna Salu
• KENYA, Nawi
• KYRGYZSTAN, Paradise at Mother's Feet
• LATVIA, Flow – ANNECY REVIEW
• LEBANON, Arzé
• LITHUANIA, Drowning Dry
• MALAYSIA, Abang Adik
• MALTA, Castillo
• MEXICO, Sujo
• MONGOLIA, If Only I Could Hibernate
• MONTENEGRO, Supermarket
• MOROCCO, Everybody Loves Touda
• NEPAL, Shambhala
• NETHERLANDS, Memory Lane
• NIGERIA, Mai Martaba
• NORWAYy, Armand
• PAKISTAN, The Glassworker
• PALESTINE, From Ground Zero – TIFF REVIEW
• PANAMA, Wake Up Mom
• PARAGUAY, The Last Ones
• PERU, Yana-Wara
• PHILIPPINES, And So It Begins – POLITICAL CONTEXT
• POLAND, Under the Volcano
• PORTUGAL, Grand Tour – TIFF REVIEW
• ROMANIA, Three Kilometers to the End of the World – CANNES REVIEW
• SENEGAL, Dahomey – NYFF REVIEW
• SERBIA, Russian Consul
• SINGAPORE, La Luna
• SLOVAKIA, The Hungarian Dressmaker
• SLOVENIA, Family Therapy
• SOUTH AFRICA, Old Righteous Blues
• SOUTH KOREA, 12.12: The Day
• SPAIN, Saturn Return
• SWEDEN, The Last Journey
• SWITZERLAND, Reinas
• TAIWAN, Old Fox
• TAJIKISTAN, Melody
• THAILAND, How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies
• TUNISIA, Take My Breath
• TURKEY, Life
• UKRAINE, La Palisiada
• UNITED KINGDOM, Santosh
• VENEZUELA, Back to Life
• VIETNAM, Peach Blossom, Pho and Piano

Though this category is meant to honor non-American and non-English-speaking cinema, some American funding and English dialogue can show up. Eight films are American co-productions, while four have substantial dialogue in English. Though, not enough to disqualify the films.

Spanish is the most common language, being represented in 13 films. Arabic comes next, with seven films.

In terms of international co-productions, France is king with 18 contenders. ARTE France Cinéma alone was involved in five films – Brazil's I'm Still Here, Germany's The Seed of the Sacred Fig, Lithuania's Flow, Senegal's Dahomey, and Spain's Saturn Return.

Only one actor appears in more than one official submission. He is Svetozar Cvetković, a Serbian actor who stars in Croatia's Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day and Serbia's Russian Consul.

There are six documentaries in contention. They are Ecuador's Behind the Mist, Palestine's From Ground Zero, Paraguay's The Last Ones, the Philippines' And So it Begins, Senegal's Dahomey, and Sweden's The Last Journey. All of them are also eligible in the Best Documentary Feature race.

Latvia's Flow and Pakistan's The Glassworker are the only animated films submitted this year. They are both eligible in the Best Animated Feature category.

Turkey's Life is the longest contender with 193 minutes, while Senegal's Dahomey is the shortest, with only 68 minutes of run time.

With its world premiere dating back to January last year, Iraq's Baghdad Messi is the oldest contender, while Chile's In Her Place is the newest. The latter had its world premiere at the San Sebastián Film Festival on September 22nd.

On Letterboxd, Brazil's I'm Still Here is both the best-reviewed and most popular submission. In contrast, Nigeria's Mai Martaba is the most obscure while Vietnam's Peach Blossom, Pho and Piano has the worst average rating.

If you are on Letterboxd, I uploaded all of these eligibility lists – Best Animated Feature, Best Documentary Feature, and Best International Feature Film. How many flicks have you watched from each? And what are your favorites?

Comments

[Fabio Dantas Flappers]

Man, it's a lot of movies...
I hope they select the best ones.

[Peggy Sue]

What?! Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion?!! What a treat!

I know I'm going to sound superbasic but I loved the We Are the World documentary.