Culture 4 min read By Trevor Kendall
France Picks Cannes Winner 'Minotaur' for Oscars International Race
France's Oscar committee has selected Andrey Zvyagintsev's Cannes Grand Prize winner 'Minotaur' as the country's entry for Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards, beating a shortlist that included 'De Gaulle: Tilting Iron' and 'Iron Boy'.
France will send Andrey Zvyagintsev's «Minotaur» into the race for Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards, the country's Oscar committee confirmed Wednesday. The Cannes Grand Prize winner was chosen from a five-film shortlist after the committee held auditions with the producers, international sales agents and U.S. distributors behind each contender.
The selection positions a French-produced political thriller from an exiled Russian director as one of the early frontrunners in the international feature category. «Minotaur» took the Grand Prize at Cannes, the festival's second-highest honor, giving it a prominent awards-season profile before the Academy's voting begins.
The other films on France's shortlist were Antonin Baudry's historical biopic «De Gaulle: Tilting Iron», Louis Clichy's animated feature «Iron Boy», Marine Atlan's «La Gradiva» and a fifth title. The committee's deliberations involved the commercial and distribution teams behind the shortlisted films, including the U.S. distributors Mubi, Neon and Sony Pictures Classics, reflecting the weight France places on a category it has historically dominated.
France is among the most successful nations in the history of the international feature race, and its submission is watched closely each year by awards strategists and distributors. The country's choice of «Minotaur» signals a preference for a politically charged auteur work over a mainstream historical biopic or an animated crowd-pleaser, a decision that could shape how other national committees approach their own selections.
The 99th Academy Awards will mark the latest edition of the international feature category, which has grown increasingly competitive as more countries invest in campaigns for their submissions. France's entry now joins a field that will be whittled down by the Academy's selection process in the months ahead.
Zvyagintsev's film arrives with strong festival credentials, and its selection places it alongside other high-profile national picks announced this month. Spain has chosen Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi's Cannes breakout «La Bola Negra», confirmed by the Spanish Film Academy during a press conference. Italy, meanwhile, has unveiled a 21-title shortlist that includes Nanni Moretti's «It Will Happen Tonight» and the Venice Orizzonti prizewinner «The House of the Monkey», with a selection committee overseen by the film body Anica set to decide the country's submission at a meeting on September 23.
The convergence of these announcements underscores how national film bodies use festival prizes and critical buzz as guideposts. For France, the decision to back «Minotaur» also carries symbolic weight, given the director's exile from Russia and the film's French production base. The Academy's international feature category has in recent years rewarded films with strong festival pedigrees, and France's committee appears to be betting that «Minotaur» can convert its Cannes momentum into Oscar attention.
Further details about the film's U.S. release plans and campaign strategy are expected as the awards season progresses. For now, France has made its choice, and «Minotaur» carries the country's hopes into the 99th Academy Awards.
