Andrey Zvyagintsev’s ‘Minotaur’ Might Not Be Submitted by Any Country for the Oscars

I’ve already mentioned how a major Oscar overhaul in the Best International Feature Film category was needed. Traditionally, each country could submit only one film, which often led to criticism that strong contenders were excluded due to internal selection politics.

A few months ago, the Academy did expand how movies can qualify in this category. Under the new system, eligibility will no longer depend solely on national submission. Going forward, films can qualify in two ways: either by being officially selected by their country — the current method — or by winning a top prize at one of six major international festivals: Berlin, Busan, Cannes, Sundance, and Venice.

That’s certainly an improvement over the previous eligibility rules, but it might not be enough — more overhaul is needed.

The latest example of a great film that might be shunned from eligibility in the category is dissident Russian filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev’s “Minotaur,” which won the Grand Prix at Cannes and, due to its production partnerships, could have technically been submitted by four different countries: Russia, Latvia, Germany, or France.

Obviously, Russia ain’t submitting this scathing indictment of Putin. Yesterday, Germany selected Sandra Wollner’s “Everytime,” while Latvia, a minority co-producer, chose “Ulya.”

This just leaves us with France. According to Variety, Zvyagintsev is living in France with asylum status, while “the film was largely financed and produced out of France by Charles Gillibert’s CG Cinema and MK2 Films.” Beyond that, there’s really nothing “French” about this film — it’s a cold, icy Eastern European epic about infidelity and corruption in Russia.

Will France still select “Minotaur”? It’s not out of the realm of possibility — remember, just last year, they submitted another dissident filmmaker, Iran’s Jafar Panahi, and his Palme d’Or winner “It Was Just an Accident” as their selection. Variety mentions how that “sparked pushback in parts of the French industry over whether a country should be represented by a foreign-born filmmaker working largely outside the French language.”

The other contenders include Marine Atlan’s Cannes Critics’ Week Grand Prize winner “La Gradiva,” the successful blockbuster “de Gaulle: Resistance,” Emmanuel Marre’s “A Man of His Time,” which won Best Screenplay at Cannes, László Nemes’ “Moulin,” and Xavier Giannoli’s “Rays and Shadows.”

Remember, France hasn’t won an international Oscar in 33 years — which is disastrous considering that, year in and year out, it produces some of the best films world cinema has to offer. Their biggest blunder came in 2023, when they snubbed Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall” in favor of “The Taste of Things.”

As for what they select this year, it will really come down to which film has the best shot at winning. I suspect the final submission will likely come down to homegrown critical favorites “La Gradiva” and “A Man of His Time.” Still, “Minotaur” not being submitted by any country to contend will only further prove how idiotic the current system is — and will further fuel debate for more rule changes.