International Feature Film

Always one of the more interesting and difficult categories to predict is the recently named International Feature Film. The submission procedure for this category is possibly the most long-winded of all the categories, with each country only being allowed to submit one movie. This has seen some controversial picks in the past, most notably in 2020 when France submitted “Les Misérables” as their entry at the 92nd Academy Awards, instead of the much beloved “Portrait of a Lady on Fire”.

Once each country has submitted their one motion picture, the Academy then whittles this down to a short list of fifteen films. The final five nominees are then selected from these final fifteen. Not knowing which countries will submit this year, or knowing which film they will submit make this very difficult to predict early doors. We will have a much clearer picture by the time we hit the deadline of submissions in October.

Based on early reactions out of Cannes, the two frontrunners seem to be the French film “Anatomy of a Fall” and British film “The Zone of Interest”. Despite being a British production “The Zone of Interest” is in German, so therefore will qualify for submission. Now we have a guaranteed ten nominations, both films even have an outside chance of breaking in to Best Picture.

In what could a repeat of France’s choice in 2020, Japan also have to make a decision as to which film they will submit for at the upcoming Academy Awards. Acclaimed filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda‘s latest film “Monster” received stellar reviews at Cannes, and would be the obvious choice. However, Hayao Miyazaki‘s swan song “The Boy and the Heron” is set to premiere at TIFF in September, and based on early buzz out of Japan, it is one to watch.

Here are my predictions as of 31st July 2023:

Strong Contenders

1. Anatomy of a Fall (France)
2. The Zone of Interest (United Kingdom)
3. The Boy and the Heron (Japan)
4. Perfect Days (Germany)
5. El Conde (Chile)

Possible Contenders

1. Four Daughters (Tunisia)
2. La Chimera (Italy)
3. About Dry Grasses (Turkey)
4. Fallen Leaves (Finland)
5. Monster (Japan)