International Feature Race - 15 Contenders Thus Far
Sunday, September 1, 2024 at 5:27PM by Nathaniel R
Though I know I've been absent from writing, I have been updating the International Feature Film Oscar charts to track the submissions. So far 15 countries have announced their submissions, some of which are available to US viewers. After the jump, the list so far, impending decisions from Israel and South Korea, and general observations...
- Austria, The Devil's Bath - currently streaming (Shudder)
- Cambodia, Meeting with Pol Pot
- Canada, Universal Language - coming to US theaters in Feb 2025 (Oscilloscope)
- Chile, In Her Place - streaming in October (Netflix)
Of these four submissions, two filmmakers have seen their films embraced by the Academy: Rithy Panh's (Cambodia) genius clay figure doc Missing Picture was recognized in Foreign Language Feature and Maite Alberti (Chile) was nominated for both The Mole Agent AND Eternal Memory albeit in the Doc Feature category rather than in this one. This time, though, they're both submitted for scripted dramas with actors rather than their usual mode as filmmakers.
- Germany, The Seed of the Sacred Fig -coming to US theaters in Nov 2024 (NEON)
- Iraq, Baghdad Messi
- Ireland, Kneecap - currently in US theaters
- Japan, Cloud - just premiered in Venice
- Kyrgyzstan, Heaven is Beneath Mother's Feet
- Latvia, Flow -coming to US theaters in Nov 2024 (Janus Films)
- Lithuania, Drowning Dry
With the exception of Lithuania's Laurynas Bareisa who was submitted just two years ago for Pilgrims, all of these filmmakers are new to the Oscar race in this category.
- Palestine, From Ground Zero
- Taiwan, Old Fox - currently streaming in US
- Turkey, Life
- Uruguay, The Door is There
In this small group we see a glimpse of the trend of documentaries rising with the submissions from Palestine and Uruguay. It used to be semi-infrequent that countries would submit documentaries in the International Feature race but this is happening with far more regularity in the past decade. I'm personally not thrilled about this since documentaries have their own category and I'm a 'spread the wealth' man but it is what it is. The Palestine doc is a collection of shorts about the current war on Gaza from nearly two dozen filmmakers. Uruguay's submission, in contrast, is an intimate two person conversation.
WHO WILL BE NEXT TO ANNOUNCE?
It's always tough to say but we do know that Greece might not be submitting this year due to infighting and controversy/confusion around their selection committee and process. Most of the films have withdrawn from competition at this juncture. We also have announcement dates from some countries: Romania (Sept 2), Indonesia and Portugal (Sept 11), Spain (Sept 18), Denmark and Sweden (Sept 19), Switzerland (Sept 25), Philippines (Sept 27), India (Sept 28). The two most successful countries in Oscar history in this category (Italy and France) often announce quite late in the season.
SOUTH KOREAN FINALISTS
By the time you read this they may have already announced but they were looking at 15 films (a handful of which are already available to rent or stream in the US.)
- Cabriolet 카브리올레 -road trip movie
- Citizen of a Kind - a single mother investigates the criminals who scammed her - available to rent (Prime) or stream (Viki)
- Escape - a thriller about a North Korean sergeant who defects. Lee Je-Hoon, Koo Kyo-Hwan, and Hong Xa-Bin star
- Exhuma -horror thriller starring Choi Min-sik (Old Boy) currently streaming (Netflix)
- House of the Seasons 0장손 debut mystery film from Jung Min Oh
- I The Executioner 베테랑 - crime drama starring Jung Hae-In and Hwang Jung-Min
- Land of Happiness - courtroom drama
- Noryang: Deadly Sea - action/war film currently streaming (Prime)
- Our Season 일의 휴가 - a fantasy about a mother who visits her daughter after her death. Kim Hae-sook stars
- Picnic - a senior citizen drama about an 80 year old returning to their home town.
- Revolver 리볼버 - action/thriller
- 12.12: The Day 서울의 봄 - historical drama currently streaming (Viki) or rentable (Prime)
- Victory 빅토리 - dramedy about cheerleaders
- Yeonryeon 연련(戀鍊) -period drama about a woman faking an exorcism
ISRAELI FINALISTS
Israel always submits the Ophir winner for Best Film (unless it's not eligible for some reason). So these are the films competing for that honor with Come Closer leading in terms of nomination count:
- Eid -(8 nominations) a drama about a writer and an arranged marriage
- Girls Like Us -(5 nominations) a lesbian romantic drama which takes place at an at risk youth institution
- Highway 65 - (8 nominations) three time Ophir nominee Tali Sharon stars in this police office drama
- Come Closer -(12 nominations) a sister grieves her brother and discovers his secret girlfriend
- Halisa -(5 nominations) a drama about a nurse struggling with infertility in a poor neighborhood
- Milk - (10 nominations) a dystopic comedy about a mother selling her breast milk
Reader Comments (6)
I didn't realize Japan never selected Kiyoshi Kurosaway before. It's about time!
How is it that I keep missing Taiwan's submission announcement? It's nice that many of their recent submissions have been on streaming. It aids me in my quest to watch all of their previous submissions, but there are four I still can't track down including one that's as new as 2006. It's annoying.
ajnrules -- access is definitely easier in this category than it once was but you're right that it's still hit and miss even for countries that have steady cinematic output.. Unfortunately streaming also seems to have killed the theatrical market for sleeper hit arthouse sensations. Now it seems like there's only a couple of titles a year that get attention beyond festivals.
From what I have heard, Latvia’s FLOW is a masterpiece. It’s definitely one to watch out for — I doubt it would get recognized here as it’s an animated film, but maybe in Animated Feature! Latvia has an interesting history for animation so would be cool to see it recognized.
Spoken English Classes in kolhapur
Learning a language is a gradual process that requires persistence and patience. Celebrate your progress, no matter how small, and stay motivated despite setbacks. Set achievable goals and track your progress over time. Remember that each step brings you closer to fluency. Improving your English conversation skills is a continuous process that requires dedication and consistent effort. By incorporating these strategies into your daily life and staying motivated, you can gradually improve your ability to communicate effectively in English. Remember: practice makes perfect, so take advantage of every opportunity to speak and listen to English both in and outside the classroom. With perseverance and determination, you'll be speaking confidently and clearly in no time
Great analysis of the current international feature contenders! I’ve always found that exploring diverse cinema enriches our understanding of global perspectives. While discussing international film, it's also interesting to see how platforms like Stake login incorporate global entertainment experiences beyond traditional media. They cater to an audience that appreciates variety, much like the international film circuit does.