His Film Is Spain’s Submission to the Oscars. He’s Not Sure How Spanish It Is.

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Spanish cinema has entered a new and more diverse era, film experts say. Oliver Laxe, the director of Oscar-nominated “Sirat,” embodies the shift.

The Spanish director Oliver Laxe questioned “if my cinema is Spanish or not,” and said that his Oscar-nominated film, “Sirat,” differed from the work of his Spanish peers.

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In-Depth Context: List of submissions to the 98th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film

This is a list of submissions to the 98th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has invited the film industries of various countries to submit their best film for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film every year since the award was created in 1956. The award is presented annually by the Academy to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue. The International Feature Film Executive Committee oversees the process and reviews all the submitted films. The category was previously called the Best Foreign Language Film, but this was changed in April 2019 to Best International Feature Film, after the Academy deemed the word "Foreign" to be outdated. For the 98th Academy Awards, the submitted motion pictures must have been first released theatrically in their respective countries between 1 October 2024 and 30 September 2025. The deadline for submissions to the Academy was 1 October 2025. A total of 92 countries submitted films, and 86 were found to be eligible by AMPAS and screened for voters. Madagascar and Papua New Guinea submitted films for the first time, and Haiti resubmitted its film disqualified from last year's list, while Greenland made a submission for the first time since 2012; however, Papua New Guinea's film did not appear on the final list. The 15-film shortlist was announced on 16 December 2025, while the five nominees were announced on 22 January 2026. For the second year in a row, two films nominated for International Feature were also nominated for Best Picture, The Secret Agent (Brazil) and Sentimental Value (Norway), with the latter receiving 9 nominations.

== Submissions ==

== Notes == Cambodia reportedly submitted Tenement by Inrasothythep Neth and Sokyou Chea, but it did not appear on the final list of films sent to Academy voters. Iran's government-controlled Farabi Cinema Foundation submitted Cause of Death: Unknown by Ali Zarnegar, bypassing critic favorites including It Was Just an Accident by Jafar Panahi. After years of persecution and incarceration, Panahi made his film in secret without the Iranian government's permission. It was instead submitted by France, where it had been edited and co-financed. The dissident Iranian Independent Filmmaker Association, building on a statement from 2024, urged AMPAS "to reconsider its policies regarding film submissions from countries under autocratic rule." The statement held that "establishing an independent committee of global representatives — particularly those from Iran who are free from governmental affiliation — would facilitate a broader and more authentic representation of Iranian cinema". Kazakhstan reportedly submitted Cadet by Adilkhan Yerzhanov, but it did not appear on the final list of films sent to Academy voters. Kosovo's Cinematography Center announced that they had received one submission but that the five-person selection committee declined to send it because it "did not meet the competition standards for the 'Oscar' competition", leaving Kosovo without a candidate for the third year in a row. Some local filmmakers condemned the decision including director Isa Qosja, who directed Kosovo's first-ever Oscar submission in 2014. Qosja argued that "It is better to have Kosovo's name written as a participant than for three years for Kosovo's name not to exist at all in this important competition of cinematographic culture" and criticized relying on the opinion of "three or four people" regarding the unnamed film's Oscar prospects. Malta's Academy Selection Committee received one entry, Ciao Ciao by Keith Tedesco, but chose to make no submission. The committee told Tedesco that while the "film received positive reviews from local critics and audiences... an Oscar submission must be evaluated within its specific international context. With this in mind, the committee felt that the film was not positioned strongly enough to be put forward." Tedesco called the decision "incompetence." The Malta Entertainment Industry and Arts Association and the Malta Producers Association, which jointly organize the selection committee, defended the decision in a statement saying Malta does not send a submission every year and there "is nothing exceptional about this year." Nepal's Oscar selection committee announced Anjila by Milan Chams as their submission. Local filmmakers, raising concerns about procedural violations, conflicts of interest and a committee operating in secrecy during a time of civil unrest, filed a formal complaint with AMPAS. Chams countered that the filmmakers who filed the complaint appeared "to be driven more by personal interest than by objective critique." Papua New Guinea formed an Oscar selection committee for the first time and reportedly submitted Papa Buka by Dr. Biju, but it did not appear on the final list of films sent to Academy voters. Senegal reportedly submitted Demba by Mamadou Dia, but it did not appear on the final list of films sent to Academy voters. Tajikistan reportedly submitted Black Rabbit, White Rabbit by Shahram Mokri, but it did not appear on the final list of films sent to Academy voters. Thailand reportedly submitted A Useful Ghost by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, but it did not appear on the final list of films sent to Academy voters. The Oscar selection committees for Cameroon, Guatemala, Nigeria, Pakistan and Sudan invited filmmakers to make submissions, but did not end up sending a film. Rwanda and Zimbabwe formed selection committees for the first time, but also did not end up sending films. Algeria, Kenya and Namibia asked for submissions, but announced they had no films eligible for entry.

== References ==

== External links == Official website of the Academy Awards

Background information sourced from Wikipedia: List of submissions to the 98th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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Original Source: His Film Is Spain’s Submission to the Oscars. He’s Not Sure How Spanish It Is.