Best International Feature Film Oscars Predictions (December)

With the unveiling of the Academy’s shortlists, we now know the final 15 films in contention for Best International Feature Film. While there were no major snubs to speak of, as an Australian, it certainly stung to see Shayda fail to make it through. As expected, the shortlist is dominated by European films and it’s certainly plausible the final five nominees will all come from European countries.

Standing as the first major televised awards of the season, the Golden Globe nominations gave a great boost to Fallen Leaves, Io Capitano, Society of Snow and The Zone of Interest. The latter also scored nominations for Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Score, which only further cements its status as the clear frontrunner for the Oscar.

With three additional mentions on the Oscars shortlists for Best Score, Visual Effects, and Makeup and Hairstyling, Society of the Snow has stamped its claim on one of the five spots in this category. While it probably won’t have the broader nomination success Netflix achieved last year with All Quiet on the Western Front, the film now comfortably moves into second place and a nod seems all but assured here, particularly if it can nab an additional nomination elsewhere.

That really leaves those final three slots open to all sorts of possibilities. Fallen Leaves feels universally adored, especially after its star Alma Pöysti scored a surprise Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress. Germany and France are such perennial nominees in this category that The Teacher’s Lounge and The Taste of Things feel fairly safe for nominations for now. But the Academy loves to throw in a nomination from nowhere, so keep an eye on Bhutan’s The Monk and the Gun and Tunisia’s Four Daughters. The latter landed on the shortlist for Best Documentary Feature, so it could be reminiscent of something like 2021’s Flee.

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE PREDICTIONS:
1. The Zone of Interest (UK) – CCA, GG
2. Society of the Snow (Spain) – CCA, GG
3. Fallen Leaves (Finland) – GG
4. The Teacher’s Lounge (Germany)
5. The Taste of Things (France) – CCA

IN CONTENTION
Amerikatsi (Armenia)
Four Daughters (Tunisia)
Godland (Iceland)
Io Capitano (Italy) – GG
The Monk and the Gun (Bhutan)
The Mother of All Lies (Morocco)
Perfect Days (Japan) – CCA
The Promised Land (Denmark)
Tótem (Mexico)
20 Days in Mariupol (Ukraine)