The 95th Oscars ceremony is coming soon, in fact, despite it being in almost 6 months, specifically on the 12th of March 2023, the deadline to present the chosen titles, for each country, for the Best International Feature Film is fixed no later than the 3rd of October 2022.
The titles, to be chosen, must have been released between the 1st of January and the 30th of November 2022, only 15 of them will end in the shortlist of finalists that will be announced at the end of the year. After this first step, among the shortlisted ones, the jury of the Academy will then choose five finalists who will be officially revealed at the start of 2023.
For last year Academy Awards edition, a total of 93 countries submitted a candidate, of which 92 have actually been accepted in the competition and 40 were European movies.
For what concerns this year European applications Italy has just recently announced its shortlist of 12 Oscars finalists among which the candidate will be selected, while other countries have already made their choice.
Albany chose A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On by Gentian Koçi, produced in Albany, Greece, Kosovo and Portugal by Artalb Film, Graal S.A. and Gjirafa.
Armenia selected animation movie Aurora’s Sunrise by Inna Sahakyan, produced in Armenia, Lituania and Germany by ARTBOX laisvalaikio klubas, Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion and Bars Media.
Austria opted for Corsage, unveiled at Cannes, by Marie Kreutzer, produced in Austria, Luxembourg, Germany and France by Film AG Produktion, Samsa Film, Komplizen Film and Kazak Productions.
Belgium chose another Cannes-presented movie, Close di Lukas Dhont, produced in Belgio, France and the Netherlands by Menuet, Diaphana, Topkapi Films, Versus Production, VTM and RTBF – Radio Télévision Belge Francophone.
Bulgaria chose Mother by Zornitsa Sophia, produced in Bulgaria, Croatia and Germany by MQ Pictures, Focus Media, ostlicht filmproduktion GmbH and NU Boyana Film Studios.
Croatia selected Safe Place (Sigurno mjesto) by Juraj Lerotić produced by Miljenka Čogelja.
Czech Republich chose Il Boemo by Petr Václav, produced in Czech Republic, Italy and Slovakia by Mimesis Film, Dugong Films, Sentimentalfilm, with the contribution of the Ministry of Culture, Czech Film Fund, with the support of Česká televize, Filmová nadace, Creative Europe – MEDIA Developement, Veneto Region, Genova Liguria Film Commission and Sicilia Film Commission. The movie was screened at MIA Co Pro Market in 2015.
Finland selected Girl Picture (Tytöt tytöt tytöt) by Alli Haapasalo produced by Citizen Jane Productions.
For the Oscars Georgia chose A Long Break (Didi shesveneba), presented during TIFF, by Davit Pirtskhalava and produced by Millimeter Film.
To compete for Germany All Quiet on the Western Front (Im Westen Nichts Neues), also presented at Toronto, by Edward Berger. An American-German production by Amusement Park Films and Sliding Down Rainbows Entertainment.
Hungary chose Blockade (Blokád) by Ádám Tõsér produced by Film Positive Productions.
Ireland selected The Quiet Girl (An Cailín Ciúin) by Colm Bairéad, produced by Inscéal.
Kosovo brings a national production in collaboration with North Macedonia by Circle Production, Audiohaus [MK] and In My Country Postproduction House [XK], Looking for Venera (Në kërkim të Venerës) by Norika Sefa.
Latvia chose January (Janvaris) by Viesturs Kairišs, a conjunct production by Latvia, Lituania and Poland, by Mistrus Media and Artbox e Staron-Film.
Montenegro, instead, selected The Elegy Of Laurel (Elegija lovora) by Dušan Kasalica, produced in Montenegro and Serbia by Meander Film and Non-Aligned Films.
For the Netherlands Narcosis by Martijn de Jong, produced by Oak Motion Pictures and NTR.
Poland opted for Eo by Jerzy Skolimowski, produced in Polonia and Italy by Skopia Film and Alien Films, which was recently screened at Toronto.
For Portugal Alma Viva by Cristèle Alves Meira, produced in Portugal, France and Belgium by Fluxus Films, Midas Filmes, Entre Chien et Loup, Les Films Pelléas and Studio Exception, which was unveiled at Cannes.
Romania chose Immaculate (Imaculat) by Monica Stan and George Chiper-Lillemark, produced by Axel Film, and presented during 2021 Venice Film Festival.
For Slovakia, another movie who took part in MIA, specifically in the 2021 C EU soon Content Showcase, Victim by Michal Blaško, a Slovak, Czech and German production by Nutprodukcia, Nutprodukce and Electric Sheep.
Slovenia chose Orchestra (Orkester) by Matevž Luzar produced by Gustav Film, RTV Slovenija.
Spain selected Alcarràs by Carla Simón, which was presented during Berlinale. A conjunct production by Spain and Italy by Elastica Films, Vilaüt Films, Avalon Producciones, Kino Produzioni and Televisió de Catalunya – TV3.
Switzerland opted for Berlinale-screened movie A Piece of Sky (Drii Winter) by Michael Koch, produced by Switzerland and Germany by Hugofilm Productions, Pandora Filmproduktion, SRF – Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen, SRG SSR and ARTE Deutschland.
Last but not least, also from Berlinale, Ukraine’s Klondike by Maryna Er Gorbach, produced in Ukraine and Turkey by Kedr Film and Protim Video Production, will also run for the Oscars.
📸Filmitalia
