89 Films Enter International Race at 96th Academy Awards

Oscar voters in the Best International Feature Film category have received their group assignments for this year’s initial round of voting, with 89 films included on the seven lists that the Academy has sent to members.

The lists, which were obtained by TheWrap, include presumed favorites “The Zone of Interest” (United Kingdom), “The Taste of Things” (France), “The Promised Land” (Denmark) and “Perfect Days” (Japan), along with a number of documentaries, among them Estonia’s “Smoke Sauna Sisterhood,” Brazil’s “Pictures of Ghosts” and Ukraine’s “20 Days in Mariupol.”

The 89 films are four short of the record of 93 qualifying films in the category. The list of group assignments does not make up the Academy’s official list of eligible films; it’s possible that assigned films might still fail to qualify before first-round voting begins on Dec. 18. For the most part, though, films that are included in the group assignments do qualify in the category.

The official and final list of qualified films is expected to be released in early December.

Below is the list of films that were included among the seven groups to which voters were randomly assigned. Each group contains 12 or 13 films, and a member must see all of the films from his or her group for their ballot to count. (They are also free to see any films they’d like from outside their group.)

This year’s system was a slight change from last year’s, in which the eligible films were separated into 11 groups, with only eight or nine films in each group. With fewer, larger groups, members will have to see more films in order to vote.

Currently, 59 of the 89 films are in the Academy Screening Room for the Best International Feature Film category, with additional titles added on a weekly basis. High-profile films that are not in the screening room include “The Zone of Interest,” “Society of the Snow,” “The Breaking Ice,” “The Teacher’s Lounge” and “The Promised Land.”

The list does not include a few films that were announced as being submitted to the Oscar race, including Hong Kong’s “A Light Never Goes Out,” Kyrgyzstan’s “This Is What I Remember” and Tajikistan’s “Melody.”

Albania: “Alexander,” Ardit Sadiku
Argentina: “The Delinquents,” Rodrigo Moreno
Armenia: “Amerikatsi,” Michael A. Goorjian
Australia: “Shayda,” Noora Niasari
Austria: “Vera,” Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel

Bangladesh: “No Ground Beneath the Feet,” Mohammad Rabby Mridha
Belgium: “Omen (Agure),” Baloji
Bhutan: “The Monk and the Gun,” Pawo Choyning Dorji
Bolivia: “The Visitor,” Martin Boulocq
Bosnia & Herzegovina: “Excursion,” Una Gunjak
Brazil: “Pictures of Ghosts,” Kleber Mendonca Filho
Bulgaria: “Blaga’s Lessons,” Stephan Komandarev
Burkina Faso: “Sira,” Apolline Traore

Cameroon: “Half Heaven,” Enah Johnscott
Canada: “Rojek,” Zayne Akyoi
Chile: “The Settlers,” Felipe Galvez Haberle
China: “The Wandering Earth II,” Frant Gwo
Colombia: “Un Varon,” Fabian Hernandez Alvarado
Costa Rica: “I Have Electric Dreams,” Valentine Maurel
Croatia: “Traces,” Dubravka Turic
Cuba: “Nelsito’s World,” Fernando Perez
Czech Republic: “Brothers,” Tomas Masin

Denmark: “The Promised Land,” Nikolaj Arcel
Dominican Republic: “Cuarencena,” David Maler

Egypt: “Voy! Voy! Voy!” Omar Hilal
Estonia: “Smoke Sauna Sisterhood,” Anna Hints

Finland: “Fallen Leaves,” Aki Kaurismaki
France: “The Taste of Things,” Tran Anh Hung

Georgia: “Citizen Saint,” Tinatin Kajrishvili
Germany: “The Teacher’s Lounge,” Ilker Catak                     
Greece: “Behind the Haystacks,” Asimina Proedrou

Hungary: “Four Souls of Coyote,” Aron Gauder

Iceland: “Godland,” Hiynur Palmason
India: “2018,” Jude Anthany Joseph
Indonesia: “Autobiography,” Makbul Mubarak
Iran: “The Night Guardian,” Reza Mikarimi
Iraq: “Hanging Gardens,” Ahmed Yassin Al Daradji
Ireland: “In the Shadow of Beirut,” Stephen Gerard Kelly & Garry Keane
Israel: “Seven Blessings,” Ayelet Mehahemi
Italy: “Io Capitano,” Matteo Garrone

Japan: “Perfect Days,” Wim Wenders                        
Jordan: “Inshallah a Boy,” Amjad Al-Rasheed

Kenya: “Mvera,” Daudi Anguka

Latvia: “My Freedom,” Ilze Kunga-Melgaile
Lithuania: “Slow,” Marija Kavtaradze
Luxembourg: “The Last Ashes,” Loic Tanson

Malaysia: “Tiger Stripes,” Amanda Nell Eu
Mexico: “Totem,” Lila Aviles
Moldova: “Thunders,” Ioane Bobeica
Mongolia: “City of Wind,” Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir
Montenegro: “Sirin,” Senad Sahmanovic
Morocco: “The Mother of All Lies,” Asmae El Moudir

Namibia: “Under the Hanging Tree,” Perivi Katjavivi
Nepal: “Halkara,” Bikram Sapkota
Netherlands: “Sweet Dreams,” Ena Sendijarevic
Nigeria: “Mami Wata,” C.J. Obasi
North Macedonia: “Housekeeping for Beginners,” Goran Stolevski
Norway: “Songs of Earth,” Margreth Olin

Pakistan: “In Flames,” Zarrar Kahn
Palestine: “Bye Bye Tiberias,” Lina Soualem
Panama: “Tito, Margot & Me,” Mercedes Arias, Delfina Vidal
Paraguay: “The Last Runway 2, Commando Yaguarete,” Armando Aquino, Mauricio Rial
Peru: “The Erection of Toribio Bardelli,” Adrian Saba
Philippines: “The Missing,” Carl Joseph Papa
Poland: “The Peasants,” DK Welchman and Hugh Welchman
Portugal: “Bad Living,” Joao Canijo

Romania: “Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World,” Radu Jude

Saudi Arabia: “Alhamour H.A.,” Abdulelah Alqurashi
Senegal: “Banel y Adama,” Ramata-Toulaye Sy
Serbia: “The Duke and the Poet,” Milorad Milinkovic
Singapore: “The Breaking Ice,” Anthony Chen
Slovakia: “Photophobia,” Ivan Ostrochovsky, Pavol Pakarcik
Slovenia: “Riders,” Dominik Mencej
South Africa: “Music Is My Life – Dr. Joseph Shabalala and Ladysmith Black Mambazo,” Mpumi Mbele
South Korea: “Concrete Utopia,” Um Tae-hwa
Spain: “Society of the Snow,” J.A. Bayona
Sudan: “Goodbye Julia,” Mohamed Kordofani
Sweden: “Opponent,” Milad Alami
Switzerland: “Thunder,” Carmen Jaquier

Taiwan: “Marry My Dead Body,“ Cheng Wei-hao   
Thailand: “Not Friends,” Atta Hemwadee
Tunisia: “Four Daughters,“ Kaother Ben Hania                      
Turkey: “About Dry Grasses,” Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Ukraine: “20 Days in Mariupol,” Mstyslav Chernov
United Kingdom: “The Zone of Interest,” Jonathan Glazer
Uruguay: “Family Album,” Guillermo Rocamora

Venezuela: “The Shadow of the Sun,” Miguel Angel Ferrer
Vietnam: “Glorious Ashes,” Bui Thac Chuyen
Yemen: “The Burdened,” Amr Gamal

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