Romania's 'Fjord' Leads Oscar International Feature Submissions

Romania, Ireland, Chile and Japan name their entries for the 2027 Oscars' best international feature race, with final submissions due Oct. 1.

Countries around the world are locking in their entries for the best international feature film Oscar at the 2027 Academy Awards, with national committees facing an Oct. 1 deadline to file final submissions. Romania has put forward Cristian Mungiu's Palme d'Or winner "Fjord," while Ireland, Chile and Japan have also confirmed their choices.

The Academy will unveil a shortlist of 15 international titles on Dec. 15. Those films go to members across all branches who agree to watch every one of the 15 before casting a vote. Nominations follow on Jan. 21. France, one of the category's traditional heavyweights, has yet to name its pick and is weighing a spread of contenders.

A change to the entry rules widens the field this year. Any film that takes the top award at one of six major festivals - Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Sundance, Busan or Toronto - can now be placed in the international race directly, even if no national committee stands behind it.

Mungiu returns for Romania

Romania's selection committee gave "Fjord" a unanimous nod. Written and directed by Mungiu, the film played in the main competition at Cannes and left with a haul of prizes: the Palme d'Or for best film, the FIPRESCI Prize, the Ecumenical Jury Prize, the Prix de la Citoyenneté and the François Chalais Prize. Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve head the cast. Tudor Vladimir Panduru handled cinematography, Mircea Olteanu edited, and Simona Pădurețu designed the production.

Ireland is going with "Aontas," an Irish-language heist thriller directed by Damian McCann. The Irish Film & TV Academy made the pick alongside a committee that drew on several notable names in Irish and international screen work, among them "Evil Dead Rise" director Lee Cronin, "Derry Girls" creator Lisa McGee, "Game of Thrones" director Brian Kirk, "Nothing Compares" director Kathryn Ferguson, actor and filmmaker Aisha Tyler, "Kneecap" actress Fionnuala Flaherty and IFTA chief executive Áine Moriarty.

"Aontas" unfolds in reverse, opening in the wreckage of a robbery gone wrong before tracing back how it happened. Three improbable thieves, led by a woman close to collapse, target a bank in rural Ireland. What begins as a botched job turns into a study of a stubborn woman held captive by her own past. The cast features Carrie Crowley of "The Quiet Girl," Bríd Brennan, Eva-Jane Gaffney, Seán T. Ó Meallaigh, Marcus Lamb and Art Parkinson.

Chile and Japan pick festival titles

Chile's Film Academy chose "The Meltdown" ("El deshielo"), a mystery drama by Manuela Martelli set at a ski resort high in the Andes in the years after Pinochet. It is Martelli's next feature after her praised "Chile, 1976," and it had its world premiere in Cannes' Un Certain Regard section. The story centers on a nine-year-old girl, played by first-time actress Maya O'Rourke, who stumbles on troubling events at her family's resort that force her to question where her loyalties lie. Paulina Urrutia, Mauricio Pešutić, Paula Zúñiga, Marcela Salinas and Lautaro Cantillana round out the cast.

Japan has entered "All of a Sudden" from director Hamaguchi Ryusuke, according to the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan, known as Eiren. It is the second time a Hamaguchi film has carried Japan's hopes in the category. Five years ago, his "Drive My Car" won the international feature Oscar.

Germany's entry, "Everytime," also comes with festival credentials, having claimed the top prize in Cannes' Un Certain Regard strand.

With the deadline days away, more countries are expected to declare their candidates before the shortlist emerges in mid-December.

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