Another year, another tough decision awaits the French selection committee, which has just unveiled the four titles in the running to represent the country in the Best International Feature Film category at the 98th Academy Awards.
The five shortlisted films:
“Nouvelle Vague” (Richard Linklater)
“It Was Just an Accident” (Jafar Panahi)
“A Private Life” (Rebecca Zlotowski)
“The Little Sister” (Hafsia Herzi)
“Arco” (Ugo Bienvenu)
One of these films is not even in French. Panahi’s Palme d’Or winner is Iranian but had some French financing behind it. It’s not as if Iran was ever going to select it as their entry, given that the film is a scathing indictment of the country’s political powers.
Meanwhile, “Nouvelle Vague,” directed by Richard Linklater, actually features French dialogue and is backed by Netflix. When all is said and done, this might very well be France’s pick—at the very least, it has French actors in it. Then again, if they opt for Panahi then they are in serious contention to win the Oscar.
Panahi and Linklater’s films don’t face much competition. Bienvenu’s “Arco” is an animated feature with Natalie Portman in a voice role. Herzi’s “The Little Sister,” which premiered in Cannes competition and won an acting prize, has failed to gain much traction since. Finally, Reviews for Zlotowski’s “A Private Life,” starring Jodie Foster, have been just okay, and its spot in the final five feels more like a reflection of this year’s weaker French slate than of the film’s own merits.
One notable omission is Pauline Loquès’ “Nino,” which was the best film I saw at Cannes’ Critics’ Week sidebar. It also just played TIFF. In “Nino,” Théodore Pellerin delivers a quietly heart-wrenching turn as a reserved young man blindsided by a throat cancer diagnosis—the film spans four days. Loquès’ debut is a tender, low-key triumph, guiding us through Paris on the cusp of mortality with intimate close-ups and moments of connection that feel deeply lived-in.
France hasn’t won an International Feature Oscar in 32 years—a disastrous streak considering that, year in and year out, the country produces some of the best films world cinema has to offer. Part of the blame rests with the French selection committee, which has repeatedly bungled its choices. In 2023, there was considerable shock when France selected Trần Anh Hùng’s “The Taste of Things” over Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or-winning “Anatomy of a Fall.”
That dubious choice followed another controversial decision the year before. In 2022, France chose Palme d’Or winner “Titane” over Audrey Diwan’s Golden Lion-winning abortion drama “Happening,” which had significant momentum in the U.S. after the Supreme Court voted to strike down Roe v. Wade.
As far as I can tell, the big contenders this year for the International Oscar: Panahi’s “It Was Just An Accident,” Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value,” Oliver Laxe’s “Sirat,” Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice,” Kaouther Ben Hania’s “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” Kleber Mendonça Filho‘s “The Secret Agent,” and Shih-Ching Tsou‘s “The Left-Handed Girl.”
Of course, we all know the rule: take these reactions with a grain of salt rather than treating them as gospel. Still, I will say that the film tested like gangbusters earlier this year, and Lionsgate clearly has confidence.