France may just want to win the International Oscar for the first time since 1993. The nation’s selection committee for the 97th Academy Awards selected Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Perez” as its submission. A not unexpected pick based on the film’s Cannes reception and Netflix’s acquisition following the festival.
READ MORE: Contender Countdown: An Unsettled Best Picture Race Rolls Along
A movie musical set almost entirely in Mexico, performed in Spanish and featuring a non-French cast including Cannes Best Actress winners Zoe Saldana, Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, and Adriana Paz, might not seem like the optimal French selection at first. But Audiard’s festival favorite was shot entirely in France on sets recreating Mexico City and features a mostly French production. team. Moreover, it’s not the only international submission to not play out in its native language. Germany has selected “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” from Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof which takes place completely in his native land and focuses entirely on a storyline central to that nation.
“Perez,” which also stars Édgar Ramírez, is seen as a likely Best Picture nominee and will have the streamers’ considerable awards season muscle pushing it in numerous categories. This should give it a leg up on other International Film contenders from a marketing and publicity perspective. A differentiator that the French committee took into account with all of this year’s shortlisted films.
The last French film to win this category was Régis Wargnier‘s “Indochine” almost 32 years ago. The other films France considered this year included “The Count of Monte Cristo,” “All We See Is Light,” and “Misericordia.”
Despite a long history of auteur filmmakers and winning this category 12 times and 41 nominations overall, France has only been nominated in this category three times since 2010. Moreover, there has been controversy over several celebrated films not being selected including last year’s Palme d’Or winner, “Anatomy of a Fall.” That movie was deemed as including too much English language and a “quintessential” French film, “The Taste of Things” was selected instead. “Taste” only made the category shortlist while “Anatomy” earned five nominations winning Original Screenplay. Needless to say, there were changes to the selection committee after that blunder.
Not that it would be an issue, but the selection of “Emilia” also helps Netflix’s category play as a significant number of International Film selection members will screen it months before many general members do. That’s potentially good word of mouth for a non-English musical that will still be polarizing to some. Netflix also has a strong track record in this category winning for “Roma” in 2019 and “All Quiet on the Western Front” in 2023.
Other expected contenders in this category for 2025 besides “Fig” include the animated “Flow” (Latvia), “Univeral Language” (Canada), and “Kneecap” (Ireland). It is hoped that Brazil selects Walter Salles’ “I’m Still Here” and India picks another Cannes favorite, the aforementioned, “All We Imagine As Light.”
The deadline for national committees to select their International Film Oscar submission this year is October 2.