As well-received projects from world-renowned international artists like South Korea’s Bong Joon-ho and Spain’s Pedro Almodóvar have proven on the 2019 festival circuit thus far, quality cinema knows no language. Nations from around the globe — including first-time entrants Ghana, Nigeria and Uzbekistan — will unite to prove just that as they send respective contenders into the Best International Feature Oscar race ahead.
Previously known as Best Foreign Language Film, the category underwent a name change to Best International Feature Film in April 2019, as a means to better represent motion picture artists working around the world.
“We have noted that the reference to ‘Foreign’ is outdated within the global filmmaking community,” Larry Karaszewski and Diane Weyermann, co-chairs of the International Feature Film Committee, said of the alteration in a press release. “We believe that International Feature Film better represents this category, and promotes a positive and inclusive view of filmmaking, and the art of film as a universal experience.”
From this year’s Cannes Palme d’Or-winning Parasite to Mati Diop’s Atlantics and Antonio Banderas’ stunning Pain and Glory, EW has assembled a full list of films submitted to the Academy for Best International Feature consideration this year, which we will update over the coming weeks as Oscar season progresses (a shortlist of 10 finalists will be announced in December, while the final five nominees will be revealed on Monday, Jan. 13). See the full roundup below, sorted alphabetically by country.
Albania – The Delegation (dir. Bujar Alimani)
Algeria – Papicha (dir. Mounia Meddour)
Argentina – Heroic Losers (dir. Sebastián Borensztein)
Armenia – Lengthy Night (dir. Edgar Baghdasaryan)
Australia – Buoyancy (dir. Rodd Rathjen)
Austria – Joy (dir. Sudabeh Mortezai)
Bangladesh – Alpha (dir. Nasiruddin Yousuff)
Belarus – Debut (dir. Anastasiya Miroshnichenko)
Belgium – Our Mothers (dir. César Díaz)
Bolivia – I Miss You (dir. Rodrigo Bellott)
Bosnia and Herzegovina – The Son (dir. Ines Tanović)
Brazil – Invisible Life (dir. Karim Aïnouz)
Bulgaria – Ága (dir. Milko Lazarov)
Cambodia – In the Life of Music (dir. Caylee So, Sok Visal)
Canada – Antigone (dir. Sophie Deraspe)
Chile – Spider (dir. Andrés Wood)
China – Ne Zha (dir. Yu Yang)
Colombia – Monos (dir. Alejandro Landes)
Costa Rica – The Awakening of the Ants (dir. Antonella Sudasassi)
Croatia – Mali (dir. Antonio Nuić)
Cuba – A Translator (dir. Rodrigo Barriuso, Sebasitán Barriuso)
Czech Republic – The Painted Bird (dir. Václav Marhoul)
Denmark – Queen of Hearts (dir. May el-Toukhy)
Dominican Republic – The Projectionist (dir. José María Cabral)
Ecuador – The Longest Night (dir. Gabriela Calvache)
Egypt – Poisonous Roses (dir. Fawzi Saleh)
Estonia – Truth and Justice (dir. Tanel Toom)
Ethiopia – Running Against the Wind (dir. Jan Philipp Weyl)
Finland – Stupid Young Heart (dir. Selma Vilhunen)
France – Les Misérables (dir Ladj Ly)
Georgia – Shindisi (dir. Dito Tsintsadze)
Germany – System Crasher (dir. Nora Fingscheidt)
Ghana – Azali (dir. Kwabena Gyanasah)
Greece – When Tomatoes Met Wagner (dir. Marianna Economou)
Hong Kong – The White Storm 2 – Drug Lords (dir. Herman Yau)
Hungary – Those Who Remained (dir. Barnabás Tóth)
Iceland – A White, White Day (dir. Hlynur Pálmason)
India – Gully Boy (dir. Zoya Akhtar)
Indonesia – Memories of My Body (dir. Garin Nugroho)
Iran – Finding Farideh (dir. Kourosh Ataee, Azadeh Moussavi)
Ireland – Gaza (dir. Garry Keane, Andrew McConnell)
Israel – Incitement (dir. Yaron Zilberman)
Italy – The Traitor (dir. Marco Bellocchio)
Japan – Weathering with You (dir. Makoto Shinkai)
Kenya – Subira (dir. Ravneet Sippy Chadha)
Kosovo – Zana (dir. Antoneta Kastrati)
Kyrgyzstan – Aurora (dir. Bekzat Pirmatov)
Latvia – The Mover (dir. Dāvis Dīmanis)
Lebanon – 1982 (dir. Oualid Mouaness)
Lithuania – Bridges of Time (dir. Kristine Briede, Audrius Stonys)
Luxembourg – Tel Aviv on Fire (dir. Sameh Zoabi)
Malaysia – M for Malaysia (dir. Ineza Roussille, Dian Lee)
Mexico – The Chambermaid (dir. Lila Avilés)
Montenegro – Neverending Past (dir. Andro Martinovic)
Morocco – Adam (dir. Maryam Touzani)
Nepal – Bulbul (dir. Binod Paudel)
Netherlands – Instinct (Halina Reijn)
Nigeria – Lionheart (dir. Genevieve Nnaji)
North Macedonia – Honeyland (dir. Tamara Kotevska, Ljubomir Stefanov)
Norway – Out Stealing Horses (dir. Hans Petter Moland)
Pakistan – Laal Kabootar (dir. Kamal Khan)
Palestine – It Must Be Heaven (dir. Elia Suleiman)
Panama – Everybody Changes (dir. Arturo Montenegro)
Peru – Retablo (dir. Alvaro Delgado-Aparicio)
Philippines – Verdict (dir. Raymund Ribay Gutierrez)
Poland – Corpus Christi (dir. Jan Komasa)
Portugal – The Domain (dir. Tiago Guedes)
Romania – The Whistlers (dir. Corneliu Porumboiu)
Russia – Beanpole (dir. Kantemir Balagov)
Saudi Arabia – The Perfect Candidate (dir. Haifaa Al Mansour)
Senegal – Atlantics: A Ghost Love Story (dir. Mati Diop)
Serbia – King Peter of Serbia (dir. Petar Ristovski)
Singapore – A Land Imagined (dir. Yeo Siew Hua)
Slovakia – Let There Be Light (dir. Marko Škop)
Slovenia – History of Love (dir. Sonja Prosenc)
South Africa – Knuckle City (dir. Jahmil X.T. Qubeka)
South Korea – Parasite (dir. Bong Joon-ho)
Spain – Pain and Glory (dir. Pedro Almodóvar)
Sweden – And Then We Danced (dir. Levan Akin)
Switzerland – Wolkenbruch’s Wondrous Journey Into the Arms of Shiksa (dir. Michael Steiner)
Taiwan – Dear Ex (dir. Mag Hsu, Hsu Chih-yen)
Thailand – Krasue: Inhuman Kiss (dir. Sitisiri Mongkolsiri)
Tunisia – Dear Son (dir. Mohamed Ben Attia)
Turkey – Commitment Asli (dir. Semih Kaplanoğlu)
Ukraine – Homeward (dir. Nariman Aliev)
United Kingdom – The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (dir. Chiwetel Ejiofor)
Uruguay – The Moneychanger (dir. Federico Veiroj)
Uzbekistan – Hot Bread (dir. Umid Khamdamov)
Venezuela – Being Impossible (dir. Patricia Ortega)
Vietnam – Furie (dir. Lê Văn Kiệt)
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