As reported by Indiewire, the Academy has implemented a new rule: films that secure top honors at prestigious international film festivals—including Sundance, Berlinale, Cannes, and Venice—are now automatically eligible for the Best International Feature category, provided they meet the basic non-English language and non-U.S. production requirements. This innovation offers countries greater flexibility, as it means a nation's official submission doesn't necessarily have to be its most critically acclaimed festival winner if that film is already in contention.

We're already seeing this new dynamic in action. For instance, İlker Çatak's "Yellow Letters," which clinched the Golden Bear at the Berlinale, automatically qualified. This opened the door for Germany to select Sandra Wollner's "Everytime" as its official representative. Similarly, Cristian Mungiu's "Fjord," a Palme d’Or winner at Cannes 2026, was also directly eligible. Romania, however, still chose "Fjord" as its national submission, illustrating that countries can still champion their festival darlings through the traditional route if they wish.

The traditional submission process requires films to be selected by a national organization, jury, or committee. This can sometimes present challenges for filmmakers whose work might be critical of their home country. A notable example is Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev, whose film "Minotaur" was submitted by France. This highlights that a country's submission isn't restricted by the national language of the submitting country, offering a pathway for diverse voices to reach the global stage.

The timeline for the 99th Academy Awards is set. Countries have until Wednesday, September 30, 2026, to finalize their submissions. Preliminary voting for the Best International Feature, alongside nine other categories, will take place from December 7 to 11. Following this, on Tuesday, December 15, the Academy will unveil its shortlists, featuring the 15 films that garnered the most votes. Ultimately, voters will choose the five official nominees from this shortlist.

Mark your calendars: the 2027 Oscar nominations are slated for announcement on Thursday, January 21, and the grand 99th Academy Awards ceremony will unfold on Sunday, March 14, 2027.

Here's a look at the initial submissions for the 2027 Best International Feature category:

Festival Prize Winners (Chronological):

  • Sundance: "Shame and Money" (Visar Morina)
  • Berlinale: "Yellow Letters" (İlker Çatak)
  • Cannes: "Fjord" (Cristian Mungiu)
  • Venice: "Woman Unknown" (May el-Toukhy)

Country Submissions (Alphabetical by Country):

  • Armenia: "In the Land of Arto" (Tamara Stepanyan)
  • Australia: "First Light" (James J. Robinson)
  • Austria: "Rose" (Markus Schleinzer)
  • Belgium: "Coward" (Lukas Dhont)
  • Bolivia: "The Condor Daughter" (Álvaro Olmos Torrico)
  • Brazil: "Gugu’s World" (Allan Deberton)
  • Bulgaria: "The Dreamed Adventure" (Valeska Grisebach)
  • Cambodia: "Becoming Human" (Polen Ly)
  • Canada: "Nina Roza" (Geneviève Dulude-de Celles)
  • Chad: "Soumsoum, the Night of the Stars" (Mahamat-Saleh Haroun)
  • Chile: "The Meltdown" (Manuela Martelli)
  • Colombia: "Rains Over Babel" (Gala del Sol)
  • Croatia: "God Will Not Help" (Hana Jušić)
  • Cyprus: "Hold Onto Me" (Myrsini Aristidou)
  • Czech Republic: "If Pigeons Turned to Gold" (Pepa Lubojacki)
  • Dominican Republic: "Melodrama" (Andrés Farías)
  • Ecuador: "The Ivy" (Ana Cristina Barragán)
  • Estonia: "Our Erika" (German Golub)
  • Finland: "The Squirrel" (Markus Lehmusruusu)
  • France: "Minotaur" (Andrey Zvyagintsev)
  • Georgia: "Guria" (Levan Koguashvili)
  • Germany: "Everytime" (Sandra Wollner)
  • Greece: "Broken Vein" (Yannis Economides)
  • Hungary: "Silent Friend" (Ildikó Enyedi)
  • Iceland: "The Ground Beneath Our Feet" (Yrsa Roca Fannberg)
  • Indonesia: "Four Seasons in Java" (Kamila Andini)
  • Iraq: "No Paradise If You Are Killed by a Woman" (Halkawt Mustafa)
  • Ireland: "Aontas" (Damian McCann)
  • Israel: "Tell Me Everything" (Moshe Rosenthal)
  • Japan: "All of a Sudden" (Ryusuke Hamaguchi)
  • Kosovo: "Dua" (Blerta Basholli)
  • Kyrgyzstan: "Cassandra" (Bekzat Pirmatov)
  • Latvia: "Ulya" (Viesturs Kairišs)
  • Lithuania: "How to Divorce During the War" (Andrius Blaževičius)
  • Luxembourg: "Child" (Cyrus Neshvad)
  • Mexico: "On the Road" (David Pablos)
  • Morocco: "Strawberries" (Laïla Marrakchi)
  • Nepal: "Elephants in the Fog" (Abinash Bikram Shah)
  • Netherlands: "Paikar" (Dawood Hilmandi)
  • North Macedonia: "17" (Kosara Mitić)
  • Norway: "Growth of the Soil" (Hans Petter Moland)
  • Palestine: "Citizen Osama" (Ahmed Hassouna)
  • Panama: "Chichero" (Aarón Bromley and Arturo Montenegro)
  • Paraguay: "Narciso" (Marcelo Martinessi)
  • Peru: "Night Has Come" (Paolo Tizón)
  • Philippines: "Filipiñana" (Rafael Manuel)
  • Poland: "Fatherland" (Pawel Pawlikowski)
  • Portugal: "The Scent of Things Remembered" (António Ferreira)
  • Romania: "Fjord" (Cristian Mungiu)
  • Serbia: "Wanderlust" (Nenad Pavlović)
  • Singapore: "We Are All Strangers" (Anthony Chen)
  • Slovakia: "Flood" (Martin Gonda)
  • Slovenia: "Fantasy" (Kukla)
  • South Korea: "Possible Love" (Lee Chang-dong)
  • Spain: "La Bola Negra" (Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi)
  • Sweden: "Adult Supervision" (Alex Schulman)
  • Switzerland: "Who Is Still Alive" (Nicolas Wadimoff)
  • Taiwan: "A Foggy Tale" (Chen Yu-hsun)
  • Thailand: "9 Temples to Heaven" (Sompot Chidgasornpongse)
  • Turkey: "Like a Limbless Tree" (Tunç Davut)
  • Ukraine: "Traces" (Alisa Kovalenko)
  • Uruguay: "A Loose End" (Daniel Hendler)