The race for the International Film Oscar is not wide open in 2025, but there were many question marks before the now-annual Academy Shortlists. Celebrated contenders such as France’s “Emilia Perez,” Germany’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” and Brazil’s “I’m Still Here,” made it to the next voting round as expected. Some surprise snubs included Mexico’s “Soju” and Palestine’s “From Ground Zero.”
READ MORE: “Flow” Review: An animated triumph of visual storytelling that’s deeply human
“Flow,” Latvia’s shortlist entry, is also a contender for an Animated Feature nomination. The Cannes premiere has already won a slew of Animated Feature Film awards from the New York Film Critics Circle, the National Board of Review, and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Only two other films have been nominated in both categories: “Waltz with Bashir” in 2009 and “Flee” in 2022. Senegal’s “Dahomey,” directed by Mati Diop, also made the Documentary Film shortlist.
Overall, “Emilia Perez” led all films with six mentions in the 10 categories. “Wicked” and “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” earned 4 while “Dune: Part Two,” “Gladiator II,” “The Wild Robot,” “Alien: Romulus,” and “Blitz” earned 3 each. “Nosferatu,” “Mufasa: The Lion King,” “The Six Triple Eight,” “Deadpool & Wolverine,” “Sing Sing,” “Better Man,” “Dahomey,” and “Challengers” earned 2 respectively.
The year’s International Film shortlist is as follows:
Brazil, “I’m Still Here”
Canada, “Universal Language”
Czech Republic, “Waves”
Denmark, “The Girl with the Needle”
France, “Emilia Pérez”
Germany, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”
Iceland, “Touch”
Ireland, “Kneecap”
Italy, “Vermiglio”
Latvia, “Flow”
Norway, “Armand”
Palestine, “From Ground Zero”
Senegal, “Dahomey”
Thailand, “How to Make Millions before Grandma Dies”
United Kingdom, “Santosh”
The 97th Academy Awards nominations will be revealed bright and early on January 17.
