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93rd Oscars. Oscar Contenders of 2020 (for the April 2021 Ceremony) - For prediction, discussion, entertainment purposes

 discuss on the blog

Most Recent Update: January 11th, 2021
SUBMISSION LIST - NOT YET OFFICIAL. 


Chart Two: Guatemala through Pakistan (33 official submissions)
Current predictions |  Albania through Georgia | Pakistan through Yemen

Guatemala
never nominated 
(submitting infrequently since 1994)

LA LLORONA
d. Jayro Bustamante

97 minutes
in Spanish & Maya

A war criminal and his wife are haunted by ghosts of their past. This is only the third submission from Guatemala, the second as ixcanul (2015) from this same director

Honduras

DAYS OF LIGHT
six different directors
Official Site

88 minutes
In  Spanish

A thriller about people disconnected from technology due to a solar storm.

 

Hong Kong
2 noms | 0 wins
(submitting since 1959)

BETTER DAYS
d. Derek Tsang

135 minutes
in Cantonese

A young woman who is being builied meets a mysterious street thug who protects her in this Hong Kong Film Awards winner.

More on Hong Kong and the Oscars...

Hungary
10 noms | 2 wins (submitting since 1965)
 

 PREPARATIONS TO BE TOGETHER FOR...
d. Lili Horvát
Official Facebook

95 minutes
in Hungarian & English

A neurosurgeon relocates for her new fiance only for him to claim he's never met her.

More on Hungary and Oscar...

Iceland
1 nomination
(submitting since 1980)

 AGNES JOY
d. Silja Hauksdóttir

92 minutes
in Icelandic

A mother / daughter drama about a frustrated suburban wife. This film recently beat last year's Icelandic submission A White White Day for the Edda Award in Iceland (their top film award). A White White Day is very good so we're excited to see this if it's actually better!

 

India
3 nominations
(submitting since 1957)

JALLIKATTU
d. Lijo Jose Pellissery

95 minutes
in Malayalam

An action drama about an escaped buffalo causing mayhem

Indonesia
never nominated (submitting since 1987)

IMPETIGORE
d. Joko Anwar
OFFICIAL INSTAGRAM

106 minutes
in Indonesian

OUR REVIEW

A woman returns to her home village from the city thinking she'll inherit property, unwaware that she's in grave danger.

Iran
3 noms | 2 wins
(submitting since 1977)

SUN CHILDREN
d. Majid Majidi

99 minutes
in Persian

This film won the Mastroianni Award at Venice (for underage acting). More on Iran's relationship to Oscar here.

Ireland
never nominated

ARRACHT
d. Tom Sullivan & Tomas O Suilleabhain

86 minutes
in Irish & English

A drama about a fisherman who takes in a stranger on the eve of the Great Hunger in 1845.

It won two prizes at the Dublin Film Festival this year

Israel
10 noms | 0 wins
(submitting since 1964)

ASIA
d. Ruthy Pribar

85 minutes
in Hebrew and Russian

A mother daughter drama which won Ophir Awards for both actresses. 

Not SelectedThe other possibilities were: father/son drama Here We Are (the other big Ophir winner), The Dead of Jaffa, Aspiration for Life, and Africa. more...

 

Italy
28 noms | 11 wins | 3 honoraries (submitting since 1956)

NOTTURNO
d Gianfranco Rosi

100 minutes
in Arabic & Kurdish

A documentary about the ravages of terrorism. This is the second time Italy has submitted a documentary from Rosi. The previous time it netted a Best Documentary Feature nod but missed in this category:

Not Selected: Italy skipped The Life Ahead and 24  other optionsMore on Italy and Oscar...

Ivory Coast
1 nom | 1 win | (submitting, rarely, since 1970)

NIGHT OF THE KINGS
d. Philippe Lacôte

OUR REVIEW

93 minutes
French, Dyula

A new prisoner to hellish prison La Maca must keep the inmates engaged in his storytelling all night in order to survive more...

Japan
13 noms | 1 win | 3 honoraries 
(submitting since 1956)

TRUE MOTHERS
d. Naomi Kawase

140 minutes
in Japanese and English

An adoptive mother receives a visit from the birth mom of her child.

Jordan
1 nomination
(submitting since 2008)

200 METERS
d. Ameen Nayfeh

96 minutes
in Arabic and Hebrew

A Palestinian father struggles to pass the separation wall to get his son to a hospital. 

Kazakhstan
1 nomination
(submitting since 1992)

THE CRYING STEPPE
d. Marina Kunarova

137 minutes
in Kazakh

An eagle hunter tries to save his family from The Great Famine

 

Kenya
never nominated (submitting since 2012)

THE LETTER
Maia Lekow & Chris King
OFFICIAL SITE

84 minutes
Swahili

OUR REVIEW

This is the first documentary submitted by Kenya. It's about a man returning to a rural village when his grandmother is accused of being a witch.

Kosovo
never nominated (submitting since 2014)

EXILE
d. Visar Morina

121 minutes
German, Albanian

An immigrant and engineer feels bullied at work in Germany. The film starsMišel Matičević (Babylon Berlin),  Rainer Bock (The White Ribbon) and Sandra Hüller (Toni Erdmann). 

Kyrgysztan
never nominated (submitting since 1998)

RUNNING TO THE SKY
d. Mirlan Abdykalykov
Official Site

88 minutes
in Kirghis

A 12 year old boy, fond of running, is encouraged to take part in a race that could change his life.

Latvia
2 nominations
(submitting since 1978)

BLIZZARD OF SOULS (THE RIFLEMAN)
d. Dzintars Dreibergs
OFFICIAL SITE

104 minutes
in Latvian

A young man turns to the army after losing his mother and his home in this historical war drama. (It has two different english language titles for some reason.)

This is a mega blockbuster at home in Latvia, their biggest hit in decades apparently. The director previously made documentaries

Lebanon
never nominated
(submitting since 2003)

BROKEN KEYS
d. Jimmy Kerouz

90 minutes
in Arabic

A pianist tries to repair his broken piano, a dangerous mission, given the extremists running his village.

 

Lesotho
FIRST SUBMISSION!(submitting since 2020)

THIS IS NOT A BURIAL, IT'S A RESURRECTION
d. Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese

120 minutes
in Southern Sothol

OUR REVIEW

An 80 year old reinvigorated widow fights  the construction of a reservoir in her village

Lithuania
never nominated (submitting since 2006)

NOVA LITUANIA
d. Karolis Kaupinis

96 minutes
in Lithuanian

A black and white debut feature from a 33 year old director. It takes place in the 1930s and features a geographer who wants to establish a Lithuanian colony overseas.

Luxembourg
never nominated (submitting since 1997)

RIVER TALES
d. Julie Schroell

82 minutes
Spanish

A documentary on Nicaragua and the San Juan River

Malaysia
never nominated
(submitting since 2004)

SOUL / ROH
d. Emir Ezwan

83 minutes
in Malay

A family takes in a girl in tattered clothing. She makes a terrifying prophesy about their fate in this debut horror film.

Mexico
8 noms / 1 win
(submitting since 1957)

I'M NO LONGER HERE
d. Fernando Frias

OUR REVIEW

112 minutes
in Spanish and English

Streaming on Netflix

The Ariel Awards champ is about a dancer who emigrates to the US. 

Not Selectedtheir finalist list featured Guie'dani's NavelI Carry You with MeNew OrderThis is Not Berlin, and Workforce 

 

Mongolia

VEINS OF THE WORLD
d. Byambasuren Davaa
Official Site

96 minutes
in Mongolian

A family drama about a boy who has lost his father. He turns his grief into a source of power.

The director was previously Oscar nominated in Documentary Features for Story of the Weeping Camel (2004)

Montenegro
never nominated
(submitting since 2013)

BREASTS
d. Marija Perovic
Official Facebook

92 minutes
in Serbo-Croatian

A 20 year high school reunion between four friends, one of who has breast cancer. 

Morocco
never nominated (submitting since 1977)

THE UNKNOWN SAINT
d. Alaa Eddine Aljem

100 minutes
in Arabic

Fun premise: A criminal returns to a fake grave where he had buried his treasure only to discover its become a shrine to an unknown saint. 

This is a debut feature and it played at Cannes Critics Week

The Netherlands
7 noms | 3 wins
(submitting since 1959)

BULADÓ
d. Eché Janga
OFFICIAL SITE

90 minutes
in Papiamento

Magical realist family drama about an 11 year old girl set in the Caribbean. 

More on The Netherlands and Oscar

Not Selected: The other finalists were uiten is het FeestLast Days of Spring by Isabel Lamberti (who won "New Directors Award" at San Sebastián), The Marriage EscapeMy Best Friend Anne FrankMy Life, Paradise DriftersThe Promise of Pisa Stop Filming Us, The Warden, and 3 documentaries They Call Me BabuWei, and My Rembrandt

Nigeria
submitting since 2019

THE MILKMAID
d. Desmond Ovbiagele
Official Site

136 minutes
in Hausa

A milkmaid searching for here missing sister confronts religious extremists.

This film was nominated for 8 prizes at the AAMAs "Africa Movie Academy Awards"

 

North Macedonia
2 nominations
(submitting since 1994)

WILLOW
d. Milcho Manchevski
Director's Site

101 minutes
in Macedonian

Three Macedonian women (in parallel storylines one in medieval times, two in our contemporary era) struggle with issues of motherhood and bodily autonomy.

This is Micho Manchevski's fourth submission in the category. He was responsible for Macedonia's first nomination Before the Rain. 

Norway
5 nominations
(submitting since 1957)

HOPE
d. Maria Sødahl

130 minutes
in Norwegian and Swedish

A romance is put to the test when the woman is diagnosed with brain cancer. Starring Andrea Braein Hovig and the ubiquitous character actor Stellan Skarsgård

Not Selected: Christian cult drama Disco and the aneroxia documentary Self Portrait were the other finalists. More on Norway and Oscar here...

Pakistan
never nominated
(first submitted in 1959, began regular submissions in 2013) 

ZINDAGI TAMASHA / CIRCUS OF LIFE
d. Sarmad Sultan Khoosat
Official Site

138 minutes
in Urdu & Punjabi

A drama about a man living in Lahore

 

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