International Oscar Submissions: Nepal, Singapore, Israel, Romania, South Korea, Chile and More Join the List — SkimNews
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- Romania's "Fjord" by Cristian Mungiu won the Palme d'Or at Cannes along with the FIPRESCI Prize, Ecumenical Jury Prize, Prix de la Citoyenneté, and François Chalais Prize, and was unanimously chosen as Romania's submission.
- Japan's "All of a Sudden" by Hamaguchi Ryusuke is the country's entry, marking the second time a Hamaguchi film represents Japan after "Drive My Car" won the international feature Oscar at the 94th Academy Awards.
- Germany's "Everytime" by Sandra Wollner won the Prix Un Certain Regard (the section's top award) at Cannes and the Heart of Sarajevo Grand Prize at the Sarajevo Film Festival.
- A new Academy rule allows any film winning the top prize at Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Sundance, Busan, or Toronto to enter the international feature race without a national committee's backing.
- Nepal's "Elephants in the Fog" by Abinash Bikram Shah won the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at Cannes and has closed distribution deals in more than a dozen territories including the UK (MetFilm), Spain (Filmin), India (EFAR), and Israel (Lev Cinema).
- The Philippines' "Filipiñana" by Rafael Manuel, executive produced by Chinese auteur Jia Zhangke, won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Creative Vision at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.
- Key dates: Final submissions are due Oct. 1, the 15-film shortlist is revealed Dec. 15, and nominations are announced Jan. 21; France has not yet submitted a film.
Why it matters: The 99th Oscar international feature race is being reshaped by a new Academy rule letting top festival winners bypass national committees — directly benefiting Romania's Palme d'Or-winning "Fjord" and Germany's Un Certain Regard winner "Everytime" without typical selection politics. With submissions due Oct. 1 and France still undecided, the Dec. 15 shortlist will show how aggressively countries leverage major festival prizes under the changed rules.
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