99th Academy Awards International Feature Film Submissions

Update September 13. Yesterday the Venezia 83 Golden Lion was awarded to a film that is also one of three contenders to become Denmark's entry to Oscars 2027 and now there is, once again, a dilemma, will the Danish Oscar selection committee select the much awarded Venice film or will chose another film?

I believe that countries are forgetting that now this Oscar is given to the film and not a country: "The Oscar statuette will be awarded to the film and accepted by the director on behalf of the film’s creative talents. For Academy Awards purposes, the film will be credited as the nominee and accepted by the director on behalf of the film’s creative talents. The director’s name will be listed on the statuette plaque after the film title and country or region if applicable." Before the the Oscar went to the submitting country but now it belongs to the film and this is a major change that perhaps have been not assimilated yet.

So, no matter who submits the film, the Oscar belongs to the film; which means film "owner" or designated owner, could keep the Oscar. Also, film's title is the primary credit in the Statuette plaque engraving with the director's name immediately following the title. The country or region of origin is now a secondary addition and is only included "if applicable".

With true understanding of the above I imagine that is more interesting IF two or more films made by "a country" are sent instead of one "representing" the country. Let's see if the Danish committee selects a different film, as Woman Unknown already can be submitted by the filmmakers. A different story happened with Romania selecting Cannes Palme d'Or winner and gave no opportunity to another Romanian film to be also submitted. Sigh.

We will soon see what happens, and for now Woman Unknown is included in list as Venice Golden Lion winner.

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Update September 2nd. I have been carefully reading AMPAS rules for this category and there are some issues that still confuse me as, for example, in the submissions requirements checklist it is clearly stated "The eligibility period for winning a qualifying festival award begins on October 1, 2025, and ends on September 30, 2026."; so, that means that Busan fest winner should be the one from last year and not this year winner. Still, will wait to see how AMPAS resolves this issue.

But what really concerns this update is the fact that Romania is submitting Fjord as the country's entry and according to AMPAS International Feature Film FAQ's "If a film wins a qualifying festival award and is later selected as the official submission of a country or region, it will be considered an official country/region submission and listed as such. A qualifying festival does not receive an alternate qualifying slot if its award-winning film is submitted by a country or region. No runner-up or additional festival award winner becomes eligible in its place." Which means that Fjord by Christian Mungiu now is ONLY the submission of Romania and forfeit the need to be submitted as Palme d'Or winner. Also, unfortunatelly, means that Minotaur cannot be sent in its place, which is a true shame. Sigh.

Update July 30th. Finally the first country submission was announced and it was Slovakia! Not much after was Turkey and then Kosovo, definitively the category is active and will be until the end of September when AMPAS category deadline is set.

On the Festivals side there has been some news with Toronto and Sundance announcing that their Oscars qualifying award competition has been increased to 12 films which gives more opportunity to non-English to participate along with the inevitable only English-language films. Now is only Busan the one not in the clear; but, around October we will uncover what will happen from now on with the Korean festival and the Oscars.

Update July 2nd. According to Variety, Fjord by Cristian Mungiu USA distribution rights owner Neon confirmed that movie meets Academy's requirements for non-English language submissions; so, for now, until the list of approved films is released -which will confirm or not Neon's statement-, Fjord complies with Oscars International Feature Film requirements.

May 25, 2026
Cannes is over and it's time to address what's going on with this #Oscars2027 category that got huge changes in its core composition by including winners from some film festivals.

So far in 2026 there are three qualifying film festivals with a top winner, Sundance, Berlinale, and Cannes. The first two have winners NOT in the English language thus are already submitted to be considered for a spot in the short list of 15 films that will be announced on December 15, 2026 and one is now in question for the amount of English in film.

As we know according to AMPAS an international film is defined as a "feature film picture (over 40 minutes), produced outside USA and its territories with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track."  Cannes 2026 Palme d'Or winner is Fjord where English, Norwegian, Romanian, Hungarian, and Swedish are spoken; until now the percentage of each spoken language is not available but controversy has already started among some industry pundits and the omnipresent social media.

Some industry outlets have mentioned that there is very little Hungarian and Swedish spoken with Romanian spoken mainly in the household, Norwegian when speaking to local community and then English used by characters while navigating the Norwegian judicial and school systems; which suggests, as Mungiu has described, film is mainly in Norwegian and English. Still is unknown if Fjord complies with the "more than 50% non-English" and wonder when we will know it, most likely not until AMPAS list of accepted films is released.

Just a note to explain that even if Fjord does not qualify to this category, film has HIGH probabilities that will be looking for nominations in several #Oscars2027 categories as NEON (the US and other English-speaking territories rights owner since 2025) is known to do effective marketing for non-English films that end up with Oscars nominations; for example, Parasite, Sentimental Value, Anatomy of a Fall, Sirât, and more.

Nevertheless Fjord is listed below until we know from reliable sources that should not be in list.

Last, we still have the question about Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) that will run in 2026 from October 6 to 15. As can see below category deadline is September 30th, so we don't know if AMPAS will do an exception to deadline and include #BIFF2026 winner or will be #BIFF2025 the one included in final list of accepted films. All other qualifying film festivals run before category deadline and winners will be known before due date.

International Feature Film Category Key Dates
Submission deadline 5pm (PT) on Wednesday, September 30, 2026
Shortlist Tuesday, December 15, 2026
Nominations on Thursday, January 21, 2027
Awards Ceremony on Sunday, March 14, 2027

As always do not forget to consider that all dates are subject to change and if so, they will be announced via regular press release plus social media.

The 2027 List

From Film Festivals

Berlin International Film Festival: Gelbe Briefe (Yellow Leters), İlker Çatak, Germany, France and Turkey - winner of #Berlinale2026 Golden Bear and Prize of the Guild of German Arthouse cinemas

Busan International Film Festival: winner of Best Film

Cannes Film Festival: Fjord, Cristian Mungiu, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, France and Romania - winner of #Cannes2026 Palme d'Or, FIPRESCI award, Ecumenical Jury Award, Prix de la Citoyenneté, and Prix François Chalais.  Will be submitted by Romania.

Sundance Film Festival: Hatixhja dhe Shabani (Shame and Money), Visar Morina, Germany, Kosovo, Slovenia, Albania, North Macedonia and Belgium - winner of #Sundance2025 Grand Jury Prize World Cinemas Dramatic

Toronto International Film Festival: Angh, Theja Rio, India Platform Award winner

Venice International Film Festival: Kvinde, Ukendt (Woman, Unknown), May el-Toukhy, Denmark, Latvia and Sweden

Country Submissions

Albania: Film di Stato (A State Film), Roland Sejko (documentary) #GdA2025 Venetian Nights #BiennaleCinema2025
Algeria: رقية Roqia, Yanis Koussim Settimana della Critica Competition #SIC2025 #BiennaleCinema2025
Armenia: Արտոյի երկիրը Le pays d'Arto (In the Land of Arto), Tamara Stepanyan #Locarno78 Piazza Grande Opening Film
Australia: First Light, James J. Robinson #IFFR2026 Harbour
Austria: Rose, Markus Schleinzer #Berlinale2026 Competition Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance award winner

Belgium: Coward, Lukas Dhont #Cannes2026 Competition Best Actor and Prix Cinéma Positif winner
Bolivia: La Hija Cóndor (The Condor Daughter), Álvaro Olmos Torrico #TIFF2025 Centrepiece
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Udovac (The Widower), Hari Šečić #Sarajevo2026 Audience Award Cineplexx winner
Brazil: Feito Pipa (Gugu's World), Allan Deberton #Berlinale2026 Generation Kplus Competition Crystal Bear for Best Film and Grand Prix winner #Teddy2026 Competition
Bulgaria: Das geträumte abenteuer (The Dreamed Adventure), Valeska Grisebach #Cannes2026 Competition Jury Prize winner

Canada: Nina Rosa, Geneviève Dulude-De Celles #Berlinale2026 Competition Silver Bear for Screenplay award winner
Cambodia: ជាតិជាមនុស្សា Chiet Chea Manusa (Becoming Human), Polen Ly Biennale College Cinema #BiennaleCinema2025
Cameroon: Mabanda, Kang Quintus
Chad: Soumsoum, la nuit des astres (Soumsoum, the Night of the Stars), Mahamat-Saleh Haroun #Berlinale2026 Competition FIPRESCI Award winner
Chile: El Deshielo (The Meltdown), Manuela Martelli Un Certain Regard Competition #UCR2026 #Cannes2026
Colombia: Llueve Sobre Babel (Rains Over Babel), Gala del Sol #Sundance2025 NEXT
Croatia: Bog neće pomoći (God Will Not Help), Hane Jušić #Locarno2025 Competition winner of Pardo for Best Performance #Sarajevo2025 Special Award for Promoting Gender Equality
Cyprus: Κράτα Με Krata Me (Hold Onto Me), Myrsini Aristidou #Sundance2026 World Cinema-Dramatic Competition Audience Award winner
Czech Republic: Kdyby se holubi proměnili ve zlato (If Pigeons Turned to Gold), Pepa Lubojacki (documentary) Forum #Berlinale2026 Documentary Award winner and Caligari Film Prize winner

Dominican Republic: Melodrama, Andrés Farías

Ecuador: Hiedra (The Ivy), Ana Cristina Barragán #Orizzonti2025 Competition #BiennaleCinema2025 Best Screenplay winner
Egypt: القِصَص El Qesas (The Stories), Abu Bakr Shawky
El Salvador: Vértices (Vertices), Arturo López Rodas
Estonia: Meie Erika (Our Erika), German Golub

Finland: Orava (The Squirrel), Markus Lehmusruusu
France: Minotaur, Andrei Zvyagintsev #Cannes2026 Competition Grand Prix winner Cannes Soundtrack award winner

Georgia: გურია Guria, Levan Koguashvili #VeneziaSpotlight2026 Competition #BiennaleCinema2026
Germany: Everytime, Sandra Wollner Un Certain Regard Competition #UCR2026 #Cannes2026
Greece: Σπασμένη φλέβα Spasmeni Fleva (Broken Vein), Yannis Economides

Hong Kong: 風林火山 Fēng Lín Huǒ Shān (Sons of the Neon Night), Juno Mak #Cannes2025 Midnight Screenings
Hungary: Csendes barát (Silent Friend), Ildikó Enyedi #Venezia82 Competition #BiennaleCinema2025 Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actress, FIPRESCI, CinemaSarà, Edipo re, Green Drop, and Interfilm Awards winner.

Iceland: Jörðin undir fótum okkar (The Ground Beneath Our Feet), Yrsa Roca Fannberg (documentary)
India: गोंधळ Gondhal, Santosh Davakhar
Indonesia: Empat Musim Pertiwi (Four Seasons in Java), Kamilla Andini
Iraq: No Paradise If You Are Killed by a Woman, Halkawt Mustafa #VeniceOpen2026 Out of Competition #BiennaleCinema2026
Ireland: Aontas, Damian McCann
Israel: עצמאות Atzmaut (Tell Me Everything), Moshe Rosenthal #Sundance2026 World Cinema Dramatic Competition
Italy: L'estranea (The Spiral), Paolo Strippoli #Venezia83 Competition Arca CinemaGiovani Best Italian Film Award, Roma Film Award, and Green Drop award winner

Japan: 急に具合が悪くなる Kyū ni guai ga waruku naru (All of a Sudden), Ryûsuke Hamaguchi #Cannes2026 Competition Best Actress award and Prix Eco Prod award winner
Jordan: غرق Gharaq (Sink), Zain Duraie #TIFF2025 Discovery

Luxembourg: Child, Cyrus Neshvad

Kazakhstan: Әбіл Abel, Elzat Eskendir #Busan2024 New Currents Competition
Kenya: One Woman One Bra, Vincho Nchougu #BiennaleCinema2025 College Cinema #Tribeca2026 Viewpoints Special Jury Mention and Audience Award
Kosovo: Dua, Blerta Basholli #SdlC2026 Competition #Cannes2026 SACD Award winner
Kyrgyzstan: Кассандра Kassandra, Bekzat Pirmatov

Latvia: Uļa (Ulya), Viesturs Kairišs #UCR2026 Competition #Cannes2026
Lithuania: Skyrybos karo metu (How to Divorce During the War), Andrius Blaževičius #Sundance2026 World Cinema - Dramatic Best Director Award winner

Mexico: En El Camino (On The Road), David Pablos #Orizzonti2025 Competition Orizzonti Best Film award and Queer Lion award winner
Montenegro: Planina (To Hold A Mountain), Petar Glomazić and Biljana Tutorov (documentary) #Sundance2026 World Cinema Documentary Competition Grand Jury Prize winner and Heart of Sarajevo for Best Documentary Award winner
Morocco: La Más Dulce (Strawberries), Laïla Marrakchi #UCR2026 Competition #Cannes2026

Nepal: तिनीहरू Tinihāru (Elephants in the Fog), Abinash Bikram Shah Un Certain Regard Competition #UCR2026 Jury Prize winner Golden Camera Competition #QueerPalm Competition #Cannes2026
Netherlands: پیکار Paikar, Dawood Hilmandi (documentary)
North Macedonia: 17, Kosara Mitić #Berlinale2026 Perspectives Competition #Sarajevo2026 Competition Heart of Sarajevo Best Actress award winner
Norway: Markens Grøde (Growth of the Soil), Hans Petter Moland #74SSIFF2026 Competition

Palestine: لمواطن أسامة Al Mowaten Osama (Citizen Osama), Ahmed Hassouna (documentary) #VeniceOpen2026 Out of Competition #BiennaleCinema2026
Panama: Chichero, Aaron Bromley and Arturo Montenegro
Paraguay: Narciso, Marcelo Martinessi #Berlinale2026 Panorama FIPRESI award winner #TeddyAward2026 Competition
Peru: Vino La Noche (Night Has Come), Paolo Tizón (documentary) Karlovy Vary Proxima Competition Special Prize of the Jury winner #KVIFF2024
Philippines: Filipiñana, Rafael Manuel #Sundance2026 World Cinema Dramatic Competition Special Jury Award Creative Vision winner #Berlinale2026 Perspectives Competition
Poland: Ojczyzna (Fatherland), Pawel Pawlikowski #Cannes2026 Competition Best Director award winner
Portugal: A Memória do Cheiro das Coisas (The Scent of Things Remembered), António Ferreira

Romania: Fjord, Cristian Mungiu, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, France and Romania - winner of #Cannes2026 Palme d'Or, FIPRESCI award, Ecumenical Jury Award, Prix de la Citoyenneté, and Prix François Chalais

Serbia: Izlet (Wanderlust), Nenad Pavlović
Singapore: 我们不是陌生人 Wo Men Bu Shi Mo Sheng Ren (We Are All Strangers), Anthony Chen #Berlinale2026 Competition
Slovakia: Potopa (Flood), Martin Gonda
Slovenia: Fantasy, Kukla #Locarno2025 Competition #Sarajevo31 Competition Heart of Sarajevo for Best Actress award winner
South Korea: 가능한 사랑 Ganeunghan Sarang (Possible Love), Lee Chang-dong #Venice83 Competition #BiennaleCinema2026
Spain: La Bola Negra (The Black Ball), Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo #Cannes2026 Competition Best Director award winner #QueerPalm Competition
Sweden: Arkipelag (Adult Supervision), Alex Schulman
Switzerland: Qui vit encore (Who is Still Alive), Nicolas Wadimoff (documentary) #Giornate2025 Cinema and Arts Best Film award winner #BiennaleCinema2025

Taiwan: 大濛 Dà Méng (A Foggy Tale), Chen Yu-hsun
Thailand: 9 วัดสู่สวรรค์ 9 Wat Su Sawana (9 Temples To Heaven), Sompot Chidgasornpongse #Quizaine2026 #Cannes2026
Turkey: Kesilmiş Bir Ağaç Gibi (Like A Limbless Tree), Tunç Davut

Ukraine: Сліди Slidy (Traces), Alisa Kovalenko and Marysia Nikitiuk #Berlinale2026 Panorama Dokumente (documentary) Panorama Documentary Film Audience Award winner
Uruguay: Un Cabo Suelto (A Loose End), Daniel Hendler #VeneziaSpotlight2025 #BiennaleCinema2025 #73SSIFF 2025 Horizons Special Mention

To check available info, trailers, and/or posters go to MOC here.
To check available posters on pinterest go here.
To check MovieOn facebook go here
To check MovieOn Bluesky go here

News

Argentina: submission deadline July 20. Shortlist of 4 films on September 21. Selection on September 28.

Bangladesh: submission deadline September 16. Selection on September 27.
Bhutan: submission deadline September 20

Congo: submission deadline September 30 (??? - they have to change deadline date to an earlier date)
Costa Rica: submission deadline August 19

Denmark: submission deadline June 26. Shortlist with 3 films, selection on September 25.

Guatemala: submission deadline July 27. 2 films are being considered. 

Lebanon: submission deadline September 14, extended to September 18

Madagascar: submission deadline August 30
Malaysia: submission deadline July 30
Malta: submission deadline September 1
Mongolia: submission deadline September 17

Nigeria: submissions deadline August 31

Pakistan: submission deadline August 10
Papua New Guinea: submission deadline August 15

Rwanda: submission deadline August 25

Senegal: submission deadline September 10
South Africa: submission deadline July 16
Sri Lanka: submissions deadline September 21. Selection on September 28. 

Tunisia: submissions deadline August 14, extended to August 21.

UK: submission deadline July 31

Venezuela: submission deadline August 9, screening films from August 9 to September 10. Selection between September 12 to 15. Deadline extended to September 20.
Vietnam: submission deadline September 15

Zambia: submission deadline September 4. Selection on September 26.

AMPAS released an International Feature Film FAQ's and to read it go here.