Pt 2: International Feature Race - Auteur Spotlight
Sunday, November 23, 2025 at 12:00PM by Nathaniel R
SOUTH KOREA's Park Chan Wook & Lee Byung Hun [image via Lee Byung hun's Instagram]
To broaden your appreciation of this year's Best International Feature Film Oscar race we already looked at some overall trivia. Before we get to the movie stars (the finale of this three-parter), let's look at some stats involving the artists behind the camera. It's auteur season! We're highlighting 8 directors due to their critical reputation, being a cinephile fetish object, or having previous Oscar history... or in some cases all three! We'll start with...
3 ICONS
• Park Chan-wook (South Korea's No Other Choice)
Remarkably this 62 year-old auteur and Academy member has only been submitted twice by South Korea despite a rich filmography...
His classics include The Handmaiden, Thirst, Lady Vengeance, Oldboy and Joint Security Area. His previous and only other submission was Decision to Leave which made the finals but wasn't nominated in the end. No Other Choice, which is more accessible and yet more brilliant, is his 12th narrative feature and I'd argue one of his very best (from a filmography that's not exactly middling!). I'll be rooting for him as a longshot in the Best Director race, as well.
Jafar Panahi at TIFF [image via IMDB]• Jafar Panahi (France's It Was Just An Accident)
Jafar Panahi has long been celebrated abroad at prestigious film festivals (he's one of very few auteurs to have one the trifecta of Cannes, Venice, and Berlin) while being continually persecuted at home. That friction has resulted in tremendous buzz for his new political thriller about progressive torture victims who believe they've discovered their torturer and can't decide how to exact revenge. Panahi could theoretically be up for three Oscars this year. The film will surely land in the finals for Best International Feature and he's got Best Director buzz, too. We imagine the Original Screenplay category is also possible.
• Agnieszka Holland (Poland's Franz)
She's all over international Oscar history having been submitted for films from three different countries over the past 40 years and landing nominations twice in this category: Germany's Angry Harvest (1985) and Poland's In Darkness (2011). She was also Oscar-nominated in screenwriting for Europa Europa (1990/1991) which Germany snubbed as a submission (causing much controversy at the time). In addition to her own estimable filmography -- which includes films from Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, and the U.S. - she co-wrote or wrote classics for other incredible Polish filmmakers like Andrzej Wajda (Danton, A Love in Germany, The Possessed) and Krzystof Kieslowski (Three Colors: Blue). Recently she won critical praise and stirred political conversation for Green Border (2023). Now she's back in the Oscar race with a biopic about Franz Kafka.
2 FUTURE LEGENDS
BRAZIL's Kleber Mendoça Filho & Wagner Moura [Image via Mendoça's Instagram]
• Kleber Mendoça Filho (Brazil's The Secret Agent)
Mendoça is most famous, stateside at least, for two films that weren't submitted for the Oscar race but were popular arthouse conversation-starters: Aquarius (2016) and Bacurau (2019). The consistently acclaimed auteur has been submitted three times by Brazil (Neighboring Sounds, Pictures of Ghosts, and this year his Cannes sensation, The Secret Agent).
NORWAY's Joachim Trier w/ Elle Fanning [Image via Elle Fanning's Instagram]
• Joachim Trier (Norway's Sentimental Value)
If you ask us this 51 year old master should have already have multiple nominations and a win in the International category: his thrilling debut Reprise (2006) wasn't even nominated; his next great picture Oslo August 31st wasn't even submitted -(argh!) and The Worst Person in the World (2021) which broke out internationally in a big way was nominated (hallelujah!) but lost in a competitive year. Until nomination morning when we home he's name-checked again, Norway's greatest director will have to settle for one very well deserved screenplay nomination (The Worst Person in the World) and a major Cannes prize for his latest brilliant drama Sentimental Value. Stellan Skarsgård and Reinata Reinvse, who play estranged father/daughter creatives (he's a filmmaker and she's an actress) may well be heading to Oscar nominations alongside their director if the buzz continues.
5 RECENT OSCAR PLAYERS
Yes we realize the country is technically the nominee and the winner but these directors have that Oscar history so let's give them the respect they have earned.
• Kaouther Ben Hania (Tunisia's The Voice of Hind Rajab)
Hania has been submitted four times by Tunisia, achieving a nomination with only her second submission The Man Who Sold His Skin, and recently landed in the finals again with Four Daughters. Can she score a second nod with the urgent docudrama The Voice of Hind Rajab about a doomed Palestinian child and the rescue mission to save her.
• Laszlo Nemes (Hungary's Orphan)
He won this category for his directorial debut, the POV holocaust drama Son of Saul (2016). His two subsequent efforts Sunset (2018) and this year Orphan (2025) were both submitted so he's batting 1000 with Hungary's selection committee. His post Son of Saul work hasn't struck as much of a chord with audiences but that could change.
• Tamara Kotevska (North Macedonia's Tale of the Silyan)
She co-directed North Macedonia's most recent nominee, Honeyland (2019) a moving and very cinematic documentary about rural beekepers. Now she's solo with another docudrama of sorts, The Tale of the Silyan, dealing with the relationship between a rural worker and the natural world, this time a farmer and a bird.
• Mstyslav Chernov (Ukraine's 2000 Meters to Andriivka)
This 40 year old Ukrainian filmmaker won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature two seasons ago for 20 Days in Mariupol, which was also submitted and made the finals in the International Feature category. Could he repeat that trick this year -- or reverse it? -- for another film about Russia's war on Ukraine?
• Jasmila Zbanic (Bosnia's Blum: Their Own Destiny)
Zbanic broke through internationally with her 2006 feature debut Grbanica:The Land of My Dreams which was nominated for European Film Awards and won Berlinale before becoming an Oscar submission. Fourteen years later she was Oscar nominated in this category and won the European Film Award for Quo Vadis, Aida? (2020). Her third Oscar submission is a documentary about a little known (outside of Bosnia) successful business experiment involving an entrepreneur and a management model in which employees contribute to all decisions.
AND STILL MORE TRIVIA
It Never Ends. Make it stop!
DIRECTORIAL DEBUTS
(27% of the list)
Most of the following directors have credits under their belt of some kind (tv, music videos, shorts, docs) and in fact some are many years into their careers. Others are super new. The common thread here is that they've all just made their narrative feature directorial debut AND it's been submitted for the Oscar race. Auspicious "beginnings"!
- Bernhard Wenger (AUSTRIA- Peacock)
- Zaur Gasimli (AZERBAIJAN - Taghiyev: Oil)
- Leesa Gazi (BANGLADESH - A House Named Shahana)
- Dechen Roder (BHUTAN - I, The Song)
- Ramiro Fierro & Carina Oroza (BOLIVIA - La Casa Del Sur)
- Diego Cespedes (CHILE - Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo)
- Diego Ortuño (ECUADOR -Chuzalongo)
- Sarah Goher (EGYPT - Happy Birthday)
- George Sikharulidze (GEORGIA - Panopticon)
- Mascha Schilinski (GERMANY -Sound of Falling)
- Ali Zarnegar (IRAN - Cause of Death Unknown)
- Hasan Hadi (IRAQ - The President's Cake)
- Cyril Aris (LEBANON - A Sad and Beautiful World)
- Eric Lamhene (LUXEMBOURG - Breathing Underwater)
- Luck Razanajaona (MADAGASCAR - Disco Afrika)
- Pierre Saint-Martin (MEXICO - We Shall Not Be Moved)
- Sven Bresser (NETHERLANDS - Reedland)
- Ana Endara Mislov (PANAMA - Beloved Tropic)
- Marco Panatonic (PERU - Kinra)
- Imram Hamdulay (SOUTH AFRICA - The Heart is a Muscle)
- Murat Firatoglu (TURKEY - One of These Days When Hemme Dies)
- Akinola Davies Jr (UNITED KINGDOM - My Father's Shadow)
- Daniel Yegres (VENEZUELA - Ali Primera )
Which of these directors will we see again in a year or three? Will any of them become future Oscar winners in this category?
THE TEN DIRECTORS IN THE MIX THIS YEAR WHO'VE BEEN SUBMITTED THE MOST OFTEN IN THE PAST
KYRGYZSTAN's Aktan Abdykalykov
01 Six Submissions
Aktan Abdykalykov (Kyrgyzstan)
The 68 year old director is Kyrgyzstan's most famous auteur, having won prizes at several important festivals. He's also a member of the European Film Academy. His acclaimed debut Beshkempir The Adopted Son (1998) was the first film submitted by his country. Five more submissions followed: The Chimp (2001), The Light Thief (2010), Centaur (2017), and This is What I Remember (2023) the latter being disqualified. His latest feature and submission is Black Red Yellow (2025) which took the top prize at the Shanghai International Film Festival in June.
02 [TIE] Five Submissions each
Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne (Belgium)
The Dardenne brothers have been festival favourites and Belgian submission favourites. Rosetta (1999), The Son (2002), The Child (2005), Two Days One Night (2014) nominated in Best Actress but (alas) not in Best International Feature, and this year they're in the competition with Young Mothers (2025).
Agnieska Holland (Poland / Germany / Czech Republic)
From Poland: In Darkness (2011), a nominee, Spoor (2017), and Franz (2025); From Germany: Angry Harvest (1985); From Czech Republic: Charlatan (2020), a finalist.
04 [TIE] Four submissions each
Joachim Trier (Norway) -previously discussed in this article
Reprise (2006), Thelma (2017), The Worst Person in the World (2021) nominee, and Sentimental Value (2025)
Annemarie Jacir (Palestine)
Salt of This Sea (2008), When I Saw You (2012), Wajib (2017), and Palestine '36 (2025)
Kaouther Ben Hania (Tunisia) -previously discussed in this article
Beauty and the Dogs (2018), The Man Who Sold His Skin (2020) nominee, Four Daughters (2023) finalist, and The Voice of Hind Rajab (2025)
07 [tie] Three submissions each
Kleber Mendoça Filho (Brazil) -previously discussed in this article
Neighboring Sounds (2013), Pictures of Ghosts (2022), The Secret Agent (2025) - previously discussed in this article
Laslo Nemez (Hungary) -previously discussed in this article
Son of Saul (2016), Sunset (2018), Orphan (2025) - previously discussed in this article
Jasmila Zbanic (Bosnia & Herzegovina) -previously discussed in this article
Grbavica (2006), Quo Vadis Aida (2020), Blum: Their Own Destiny (2025)
Hylnur Palmasson (Iceland) - First submitted for the underappreciated gem A White White Day (2019), and a finalist for the more epic Godland (2023). Will his autobiographical picture The Love That Remains (2025) finally make him a nominee?
Maryam Touzani (Morocco) - Touzani is one half of Morocco's reigning cinematic power couple (her husband being Nabil Ayouch). She's been submitted for Adam (2019), made the finals for The Blue Caftain (2022). Will Calle Malaga (2025) follow suit?
We're not going to list the currently submitted directors that are back for the second time -- we can't be here all day.
WOMEN FILMMAKERS
(30% of the list)
MOROCCO's frequently submitted Maryam Touzani [image © Aleksander Kalka/La Biennale di Venezia - Foto ASAC]
As we've documented over many years of charting this category, other countries (very broadly speaking, mind you) have not been as resistant to honoring female directors as Hollywood has been. Hollywood was slow to let women behind the camera and the floodgates only opened about 10 years back (or so). Most countries that submit regularly in this category have had their share of female-helmed submissions. This year's 86 film submission list has 23 films directed by women, 2 more directed by women together, 1 co-directed by a woman, 1 from a non-binary AMAB filmmaker (Italy's Familia) and the rest directed by men. Here are the women filmmakers submitted this year:
- Dolores Fonzi (ARGENTINA - Belen)
- Tamara Stepanyan (ARMENIA - My Armenian Phantoms) [doc]
- Gabrielle Brady (AUSTRALIA - The Wolves Always Comes at Night) [doc]
- Leesa Gazi (BANGLADESH - A House Named Shahana)
- Dechen Roder (BHUTAN - I, The Song)
- Carina Oroza (BOLIVIA - La Casa Del Sur) -co-directing
- Jasmila Zbanic (BOSNIA - Blum: Masters of Their Own Destiny) [doc]
- Klára Tasovská (CZECH REPUBLIC - I'm Not Everything I Want to Be) [doc]
- Sarah Goher (EGYPT - Happy Birthday)
- Mascha Schilinski (GERMANY -Sound of Falling)
- Sofie Rørdam & Nina Paninnguaq Skydsbjerg (GREENLAND - Walls Akini Innuk) [doc]
- Cherien Davis (JORDAN -All That's Left of You)
- Maryam Touzani (MOROCCO - Calle Malaga)
- Tamara Kotevska (NORTH MACEDONIA - The Tale of Silyan)
- AnneMarie Jacir (PALESTINE - Palestine '36)
- Ana Endara Mislov (PANAMA - Beloved Tropic)
- Agnieska Holland (POLAND - Franz)
- Margarida Cardoso (PORTUGAL - Banzo)
- Teodora Mihai (ROMANIA -Traffic)
- Shaheed Ameen (SAUDI ARABIA - Hijra)
- Tereza Nvotová (SLOVAKIA - Father)
- Urska Djuvic (SLOVENIA - Little Trouble Girls)
- Petra Volpe (SWITZERLAND - Late Shift)
- Shih-Ching Tsou (TAIWAN -Left Handed Girl)
- Kaouther Ben Hania (TUNISIA -The Voice of Hind Rajab)
- Ana Guevera & Leticia Jorge (URUGUAY -Don't You Let Me Go)
- Dang Thai Huyen (VIETNAM - Red Rain)
YOUNGEST DIRECTORS SUBMITTED THIS YEAR
ESTONIA's Meel Lapiale [image via his Instagram]
CHILE's Diego Cespedes [image via his Instagram]
- Meel Paliale (ESTONIA - Rolling Papers) - 27 years old
- Diego Cespedes (CHILE -The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo) - 30 years old
- [TIE] Bernhard Wenger (AUSTRIA - Peacock) and Sven Bresser (NETHERLANDS - Reedland) - 33 years old each
- Teresa Nvotova (SLOVAKIA - Father) - 36 years old
- George Sikharulidze (GEORGIA - Panopticon) - 36 years old
OLDEST DIRECTORS SUBMITTED THIS YEAR
POLAND's Agniezska Holland [image via Getty Images]
- Agnieska Holland (POLAND - Franz) - 76 years old
- Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne (BELGIUM - Young Mothers) - 74 and 71 years old
- Aktan Abdykalykov (KYRGYZSTAN - Black Red Yellow) - 68 years old
- Lav Diaz (PHILLIPINES - Magellan) - 66 years old
- Jafar Panahi (FRANCE - It Was Just An Accident) - 65 years old
Okay that's it. (Whew) Hope you enjoyed. Here are the submission charts and current predictions
Reader Comments (2)
His last name is actually Mendonça, and SOUND OF FALLING is Mascha Schilinski's second feature not debut!!
Was going to say the same as Wae Mest. Then again, both the typo on Mendonça's name and the assumption that SOUND OF FALLING is a debut have been constants this year, on much bigger outlets and even trades, so they're easy mistakes to make.
Also, for what it's worth, I reviewed Schilinski's debut - DARK BLUE GIRL - for my Cannes at Home series this year, and it's very good. Not quite as extraordinary and ambitious as SOUND OF FALLING, but one can see the seeds of what would come to be.