91st Academy Awards Best Foreign Language Film shortlist announced

A record 87 countries submitted films for the Oscars

by Anne-Katrin Titze

ROMA director/cinematographer Alfonso Cuarón, winner of Best Director for Gravity, starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney
ROMA director/cinematographer Alfonso Cuarón, winner of Best Director for Gravity, starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

The 91st Academy Awards Oscar Best Foreign Language Film shortlist has been revealed.

Never Look Away (Werk Ohne Autor) director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Never Look Away (Werk Ohne Autor) director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

From Lebanon, Capernaum, Nadine Labaki, director; Colombia, Birds Of Passage, Cristina Gallego, Ciro Guerra, directors; Denmark, The Guilty, Gustav Möller, director; Germany, Never Look Away, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, director; Japan, Shoplifters, Hirokazu Kore-eda, director; Kazakhstan, Ayka, Sergey Dvortsevoy, director; Poland, Cold War, Pawel Pawlikowski, director; South Korea, Burning, Lee Chang-dong, director; Mexico, Roma, Alfonso Cuarón, director (winner of Best Director for Gravity, which starred Sandra Bullock and George Clooney) are the nine films selected, six by Los Angeles-based Academy members and three additional films by the Academy's Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee.

87 countries submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 91st Academy Awards. Malawi and Niger are first-time entrants.

The five films to receive nominations will be announced on Tuesday, January 22, 2019.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences celebration takes place on February 24, 2019.

Share this with others on...
News

Looking back Kei Ishikawa on memory, ambiguity and A Pale View Of Hills

Bearing witness Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman on balance and perspectives in Nuisance Bear

Number one suspect Peter Warren on mental illness, living with uncertainty, and Kill Me

'Our present is Barbara’s future' Brydie O’Connor on Barbara Forever, queer wisdom and reaching younger audiences

Galaxy of ideas Elisabeth Rasmussen on mixing science, myth and art in We Are Stardust

One Battle After Another named Best Picture Breakthroughs for women and Koreans, a new category, and an award with two winners.

More news and features

We're currently bringing you news, reviews and more direct from the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival, SXSW and the NY Rendezvous with French Cinema.



We're looking forward to BFI Flare and Fantaspoa.



We've recently brought you coverage of the Glasgow Film Festival, the Berlinale, Sundance, Palm Springs, the French Film Festival UK, Thessaloniki Film Festival, DOC NYC, and the Leeds International Film Festival.



Read our full for more.


Visit our festivals section.

Interact

Don't forget that you can follow us on YouTube for trailers of festival films and more. You can also find us on Mastodon and Bluesky.

It's a busy time for festivals and here's the latest from the spring events:

Cannes Barbra Streisand to receive honorary Palme d'Or

Thessaloniki Golden Alexanders announced

Cannes Honorary Palme d'Or to be presented to Peter Jackson

Cannes Park Chan-Wook named as Jury head