International feature Oscar race draws a record 103 films
For the first time, more than 100 films are competing for the Academy Award for best international feature. Cyprus, El Salvador and Rwanda are first-time entrants, joined by three festival winners.
Photo: Busition / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Video: YouTube · eksystent Filmverleih · youtube.com
The best international feature category for the 99th Academy Awards is officially open: since Friday, the first 29 entries have been available to members on the Academy's streaming platform. A total of 103 films are in the race so far, 100 country submissions plus three festival winners, according to the trade outlet TheWrap. That puts the field on course to clearly top the previous record of 93 eligible films, set in 2020 and matched in 2022. The Academy has not yet vetted every entry.
Cyprus, El Salvador and Rwanda are submitting for the first time. Under a new rule, award winners at selected festivals can qualify without a country submission; the winners at Sundance, Berlin and Toronto qualified that way. Germany has entered Sandra Wollner's "Everytime," and Austria Markus Schleinzer's "Rose." The award now officially goes to the film itself rather than the submitting country. Busan, the last qualifying festival, will name its winner on Oct. 15.
First-round voting runs Dec. 7-11, and a 15-film shortlist follows on Dec. 15. The Academy will announce nominations on Jan. 21, 2027, and the ceremony is set for March 14, 2027, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.