Welcome to the international feature race for 2025. And it’s shaping up like a doozy of a category with a plethora of incredible world cinema delights all vying for those final five nominations posts. We’re still six weeks away from discovering which 15 films have made the shortlist from the 86 eligible films, so let’s dive in and look at some of the submissions. Shockingly, we haven’t seen any major snubs from countries that often make some pig-headed decisions (I’m looking at you, France).
As hoped, France has submitted Jafar Panahi’s Palme d’Or-winning It Was Just an Accident. We know NEON will give the film a major push for nominations across the board, and there’s every chance it nabs additional nods in categories like Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and possibly even Best Director. Normally, I’d say additional nominations equal the frontrunner, but just look at Emilia Pérez last year.
Adding to their fifth successive Palme d’Or winner, NEON has its hands mighty full in this category. There’s a genuine possibility their films take all five spots, but it’s probably not going to happen. Also on their roster: Sentimental Value (Norway), The Secret Agent (Brazil), No Other Choice (South Korea), and Sirāt (Spain). If those are our final five, you’re not going to hear many complaints.
That being said, there are plenty of solid contenders looking to break up the NEON quintet. Germany’s Sound of Falling currently sits on 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. There’s a lot of love out there for Taiwan’s Left-Handed Girl, which Netflix acquired the rights to after Cannes. Ukraine’s 2000 Meters to Andriivka is a solid contender for Best Documentary Feature, and it could nab dual nominations with an appearance here too.
But the strongest non-NEON competitor right now feels like Tunisia’s The Voice of Hind Rajab, which has finally scored U.S. distribution this December through its production company Willa. There was a lot of shock online when the film didn’t win the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival back in September. And it’s received universal acclaim from critics (only one “rotten” review on Rotten Tomatoes thus far), so its odds for an Oscar nom rise with every passing week.
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE PREDICTIONS:
1. Sentimental Value (Norway)
2. No Other Choice (South Korea) – Gotham
3. It Was Just an Accident (France) – Gotham
4. The Secret Agent (Brazil)
5. The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tunisia)
IN CONTENTION
Belén (Argentina)
Homebound (India)
Kokuhô (Japan)
Late Shift (Switzerland)
Left-Handed Girl (Taiwan)
Little Trouble Girls (Slovenia)
The Love That Remains (Iceland)
Mr. Nobody Against Putin (Denmark)
My Father’s Shadow (United Kingdom)
Palestine 36 (Palestine)
A Poet (Colombia)
The President’s Cake (Iraq)
Sirāt (Spain)
Sound of Falling (Germany) – Gotham
2000 Meters to Andriivka (Ukraine)
We Shall Not Be Moved (Mexico)
Young Mothers (Belgium)