France Unveils its Shortlist for Best International Feature at the 2026 Oscars

As the Awards season begins, the French Oscar selection committee has unveiled its list of films that are in contention to be selected as their entry for the Best International Feature category. All of them have so far received strong reviews and are currently running at major film festivals before their release later this year.

Below is the list of movies:

• Arco, Ugo Bienvenu (production : Remembers et Mountain A)

• The Little Sister, Hafsia Herzi (production : June Films)

• Nouvelle Vague, Richard Linklater (production : ARP Sélection)

• It Was Just An Accident, Jafar Panahi (production : Les Films Pelléas)

• A Private Life, Rebecca Zlotowski (production : Les Films Velvet)

The committee that decides which film will be selected as the country’s entry will reconvene on September 17 to audition the teams involved in the productions and then determine who will represent France at the 2026 Academy Awards.

The country has had a pretty tumultuous 2025 campaign, with the controversial Emilia Pérez from Jacques Audiard being positioned as a major frontrunner early on in the season, until a series of events led the movie from essentially becoming persona non grata at awards ceremonies, notably a series of problematic tweets from its lead star that upended its Oscar chances wide open. The selection of films they have this year is quite strong and none of them have garnered controversy based on its initial reception.

The deadline for submission to the Best International Feature Film category of the 98th Academy Awards is October 1. The 15-film shortlist will be announced on December 16, with nominees announced on January 22, 2026, ahead of the award ceremony on March 15.

Source: Deadline