The 15-title shortlist for the international feature category has been announced, with 92 titles entries vying for a featured spot ahead of the Oscar voting period that begins Jan. 12th. One change this year is that the Russian Film Academy announced on Sept. 26th that it would not submit a film for consideration, so no Russian entry to the Best International Feature Film this year.
The final nominations will be announced on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023, with the Awards Ceremony broadcasting live on the 12th of March.
Among the titles selected at this stage, which will now undergo a second round of voting by members of the Academy, is Laura Poitras' stunning Nan Goldin doc All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, which walked away with the top prize in Venice, back in September, on the documentary shortlist. Indian doc All that Breathes is also on the list, a quiet masterpiece about brothers who run a bird sanctuary in Delhi.
On the International Feature Film shortlist are several favorites, like Swedish entry Cairo Conspiracy, formerly titled Boy from Heaven, directed by Tarik Saleh, which won Best Screenplay in Cannes; as well as Danish entry Holy Spider, an Iranian serial thriller story, which won Zahra Amir Ebrahimi the Best Actress Award in Cannes where the film premiered.
Also on the list, Morocco's entry The Blue Caftan, starring Saleh Bakri as a closeted gay tailor, directed by Maryam Touzani; and Pakistan's entry Joyland, the feature directorial debut of Saim Sadiq, which tells the story of a man from a strict Punjabi family who falls in love with a transgender dancer.
Polish entry, Jerzy Skolimowski's EO, which he co-wrote with his life partner Ewa Piaskowska, is also on the shortlist. The film follows a lovely looking donkey name EO on a road trip of sorts through Poland and northern Italy, where he encounters strange characters, and even Isabelle Huppert on the way.
From Pakistani woman director Tanaz Eshaghian comes a Short Documentary Film also in the runnings, pardon my pun, titled As Far as They Can Run. It is "an intimate look at disabled children in rural Pakistan who have been deemed useless by their communities. A verité portrait of three teenagers who manage to find some acceptance and a place in society through sports."
Pakistan is therefore making history by having two films shortlisted for this year's Oscars.
Finally, on the list for Live Action Short Film is Warsha by Lebanese helmer Dania Bdeir, who was one of the talents chosen for this year's Screen's Arab Stars of Tomorrow and participated in a series of talks and events at this year's Red Sea IFF which took place in Jeddah earlier this month.
To see images from the International shortlisted films, as well as a few trailers, check out this Instagram account.
Find here following the complete shortlist lineup, as sent out by The Academy:
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM
Fifteen films will advance in the Documentary Feature Film category for the 95th Academy Awards. One hundred forty-four films were eligible in the category. Members of the Documentary Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.
The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:
“All That Breathes”
“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”
“Bad Axe”
“Children of the Mist”
“Descendant”
“Fire of Love”
“Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song”
“Hidden Letters”
“A House Made of Splinters”
“The Janes”
“Last Flight Home”
“Moonage Daydream”
“Navalny”
“Retrograde”
“The Territory”
DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM
Fifteen films will advance in the Documentary Short Film category for the 95th Academy Awards. Ninety-eight films qualified in the category. Members of the Documentary Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.
The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:
“American Justice on Trial: People v. Newton”
“Anastasia”
“Angola Do You Hear Us? Voices from a Plantation Prison”
“As Far as They Can Run”
“The Elephant Whisperers”
“The Flagmakers”
“Happiness Is £4 Million”
“Haulout”
“Holding Moses”
“How Do You Measure a Year?”
“The Martha Mitchell Effect”
“Nuisance Bear”
“Shut Up and Paint”
“Stranger at the Gate”
“38 at the Garden”
INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
Fifteen films will advance to the next round of voting in the International Feature Film category for the 95th Academy Awards. Films from 92 countries and regions were eligible in the category.
Academy members from all branches were invited to participate in the preliminary round of voting and must have met a minimum viewing requirement to be eligible to vote in the category.
In the nominations round, Academy members from all branches are invited to opt in to participate and must view all 15 shortlisted films to vote.
The films, listed in alphabetical order by country, are:
Argentina, “Argentina, 1985”
Austria, “Corsage”
Belgium, “Close”
Cambodia, “Return to Seoul”
Denmark, “Holy Spider”
France, “Saint Omer”
Germany, “All Quiet on the Western Front”
India, “Last Film Show”
Ireland, “The Quiet Girl”
Mexico, “Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths”
Morocco, “The Blue Caftan”
Pakistan, “Joyland”
Poland, “EO”
South Korea, “Decision to Leave”
Sweden, “Cairo Conspiracy”
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Ten films will advance in the Makeup and Hairstyling category for the 95th Academy Awards. All members of the Academy’s Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch will be invited to view excerpts and interviews with the artists from each of the shortlisted films on Sunday, January 15, 2023. Branch members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar® consideration.
The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:
“All Quiet on the Western Front”
“Amsterdam”
“Babylon”
“The Batman”
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
“Blonde”
“Crimes of the Future”
“Elvis”
“Emancipation”
“The Whale”
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
Fifteen scores will advance in the Original Score category for the 95th Academy Awards. One hundred forty-seven scores were eligible in the category. Members of the Music Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.
The scores, listed in alphabetical order by film title, are:
“All Quiet on the Western Front”
“Avatar: The Way of Water”
“Babylon”
“The Banshees of Inisherin”
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
“Devotion”
“Don’t Worry Darling”
“Everything Everywhere All at Once”
“The Fabelmans”
“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery”
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”
“Nope”
“She Said”
“The Woman King”
“Women Talking”
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
Fifteen songs will advance in the Original Song category for the 95th Academy Awards. Eighty-one songs were eligible in the category. Members of the Music Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.
The original songs, along with the motion picture in which each song is featured, are listed below in alphabetical order by film title:
“Time” from “Amsterdam”
“Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)” from “Avatar: The Way of Water”
“Lift Me Up” from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
“This Is A Life” from “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
“Ciao Papa” from “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”
“Til You’re Home” from “A Man Called Otto”
“Naatu Naatu” from “RRR”
“My Mind & Me” from “Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me”
“Good Afternoon” from “Spirited”
“Applause” from “Tell It like a Woman”
“Stand Up” from “Till”
“Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick”
“Dust & Ash” from “The Voice of Dust and Ash”
“Carolina” from “Where the Crawdads Sing”
“New Body Rhumba” from “White Noise”
ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Fifteen films will advance in the Animated Short Film category for the 95th Academy Awards. Eighty-one films qualified in the category. Members of the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.
The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:
“Black Slide”
“The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse”
“The Debutante”
“The Flying Sailor”
“The Garbage Man”
“Ice Merchants”
“It’s Nice in Here”
“More than I Want to Remember”
“My Year of Dicks”
“New Moon”
“An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It”
“Passenger”
“Save Ralph”
“Sierra”
“Steakhouse”
LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
Fifteen films will advance in the Live Action Short Film category for the 95th Academy Awards. Two hundred films qualified in the category. Members of the Short Films and Feature Animation, Directors, Producers and Writers Branches vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.
The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:
“All in Favor”
“Almost Home”
“An Irish Goodbye”
“Ivalu”
“Le Pupille”
“The Lone Wolf”
“Nakam”
“Night Ride”
“Plastic Killer”
“The Red Suitcase”
“The Right Words”
“Sideral”
“The Treatment”
“Tula”
“Warsha”
SOUND
Ten films will advance in the Sound category for the 95th Academy Awards. All eligible members of the Sound Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees. Academy members will be invited to view excerpts from each of the shortlisted films beginning Thursday, January 12, 2023, in the San Francisco Bay area, followed by New York, London and Los Angeles. Branch members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.
The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:
“All Quiet on the Western Front”
“Avatar: The Way of Water”
“Babylon”
“The Batman”
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
“Elvis”
“Everything Everywhere All at Once”
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”
“Moonage Daydream”
“Top Gun: Maverick”
VISUAL EFFECTS
Ten films remain in the running in the Visual Effects category for the 95th Academy Awards. The Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee determined the shortlist. All members of the Visual Effects Branch will be invited to view excerpts and interviews with the artists from each of the shortlisted films on Saturday, January 14, 2023. Branch members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.
The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:
“All Quiet on the Western Front”
“Avatar: The Way of Water”
“The Batman”
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”
“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore”
“Jurassic World Dominion”
“Nope”
“Thirteen Lives”
“Top Gun: Maverick”
Nominations voting begins on Thursday, January 12, 2023, and concludes on Tuesday, January 17, 2023.
Nominations for the 95th Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, January 24, 2023.
The 95th Oscars® will be held on Sunday, March 12, 2023, at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide.
