With the unveiling of the Academy’s shortlists, we now know the final 15 films in contention for Best International Feature Film. Given India bafflingly didn’t select All We Imagine as Light as their official submission, the shortlist is missing the film currently dominating the critics awards, including wins from major groups like Gotham, New York and Los Angeles. Their official submission, Lost Ladies, was not shortlisted, so congrats to India on another spectacular self-goal to match their snub of RRR in 2022.
The ten Golden Globe nominations for Emilia Pérez really just cemented its place as the frontrunner in this category. With six mentions in total on the shortlists, it’s clear the film is heading for a big Oscar nomination tally. It’s starting to look impossible to stop picking up this prize but never say never. There’s an equal measure of love and hate out there for this film, so you never know what could happen.
The Golden Globes also gave a good boost to films like The Seed of the Sacred Fig, I’m Still Here, Vermiglio, and The Girl with the Needle. The Seed of the Sacred Fig has picked up a handful of critics prizes including a major win with the National Board of Review, so it feels like the safest to join Emilia Pérez at this stage. There’s a lot of love out there for I’m Still Here and a big push to see Fernanda Torres score a Best Actress nomination, so the Brazilian drama feels like our third strongest bet.
That leaves those final two slots open to all sorts of possibilities. The Academy has an affinity with Danish films, so The Girl with the Needle is looking solid. For the final spot, I’m going with How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies. It’s a gorgeous film with a strong online following and it would make history as the first Thai film nominated here.
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE PREDICTIONS:
1. Emilia Pérez (France) – CCA, EFA, GG
2. The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Germany) – BIFA, CCA, EFA, GG
3. I’m Still Here (Brazil) – CCA, GG
4. The Girl with the Needle (Denmark) – GG
5. How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies (Thailand)
IN CONTENTION
Armand (Norway)
Dahomey (Senegal) – EFA
Flow (Latvia) – CCA, EFA
From Ground Zero (Palestine)
Kneecap (Ireland) – CCA
Santosh (United Kingdom)
Touch (Iceland)
Universal Language (Canada)
Vermiglio (Italy) – EFA, GG, Gotham
Waves (Czechia)
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