Oscars 2021: All International Feature Films submissions so far

Scroll down to check the full list of Oscar 2021 movies

'The Endless Trench', the 2019 Spanish historical drama film follows the story of a outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, where young newlyweds Higinio and Rosa are worried about the risk of reprisal killings, as Higinio is a Republican. Directed by Jon Garaño, Aitor Arregi and Jose Mari Goenaga premiered at the 2019 San Sebastián International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Shell for Best Director and the Jury Prize for Best Screenplay.

 

 

 

Swedish family drama, 'Charter', directed and written by Amanda Kernell follows a story of a divorced women, Alice who hasn't seen her children in two months as she awaits a custody verdict. When her son calls her in the middle of the night, Alice takes action, abducting the children on an illicit charter trip to the Canary Islands.

'Stories From The Chestnut Woods', is a 2019 Slovenian drama film directed by Gregor Bozic. In a decaying forest on the Yugoslav-Italian border in the years after World War II, a stingy, old carpenter and a lonely, young chestnut seller share imaginative memories of the past as they weigh fateful decisions for the future, in this touching homage to a lost way of life. 

The 2020 Algerian drama, 'Heliopolis', the film is directed by Djaafar Gacem. The movie set in Guelma, which was once called Heliopolis in ancient times, the movie follows a story of an Algerian family, for whom, a victory in Europe Day is a life-altering event. 

The French drama 'Night Of The Kings', Philippe Lacote directorial follows a story of a young pickpocket is sent to the MACA prison in Abidjan. To survive, he will have to compel the other prisoners with his storytelling.

The  Ecuadorian drama film 'Emptiness', tells the story of two  Chinese immigrants newly arrived in Ecuador find themselves under the thumb of an obsessive gangster. Ecuador is the first country  in Latin America to choose its entry for the 2021 Oscars awards.

 

The 2019 Panamanian drama film, 'Causa Justa' directed by Luis Franco Brantley and Luis Pacheco. The movie set in El Chorrillo, follows a story of a military officer, a fisherman, an American businessman, a prostitute and a young man trying to keep his friends from joining the fighting live through the United States invasion of Panama.

The Bhutanese drama film 'Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom' directed by Pawo Choyning Dorji. The movie follows a story of a schoolteacher  Ugyen, who is  his in the final year of training, has been sent to the remote town of Lunana in northern Bhutan. He must brave the high altitude, a lack of amenities and a brutal winter. The film had its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival.

A Japanese entry for Oscar 2021,'True Mothers'. The movie follows a story of a parents who adopted a five-year old child are worried that the child's birth-mother wants her baby returned.

Tarzan Nasser and Arab Nasser's 'Gaza mon amour'. The movie follows a story of a 60-year-old fisherman in Gaza has never had the courage to tell Issa he's in love with her. When he finds a phallic sculpture of the Greek god Apollo in his fishing net, he believes his luck may have turned around. The movie was screened at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival, where it was named the winner of the NETPAC Award for best Asian film at the festival. 

The 2019 Singaporean drama, ' Wet Season' by Anthony Chen. The film follows the relationship of a teacher and a student in Singapore secondary school form a special, self-affirming relationship.

'The Man Standing Next', the 2020 South Korean political drama film directed by Woo Min-ho. The film is based on an original novel of the same title, set in the 70s, Korea is under the absolute control of President Park who controls the KCIA, the organization with an edge over any branch of government. 

 

 

The 2019 Taiwanese drama film directed and co-written by Chung Mong-hong. The family of four fractures under the weight of unmet expectations, unexpected tragedy, and uncompromising pride.

Florenc Papas directorial, ' Open Door', the movie follows the story of a Rudina, a married middle-aged mother, is overburdened with responsibilities. In addition to working as a seamstress in a local factory, she is taking care of her old in-laws, while her demanding husband works abroad and they only see each other once a year. She is also single-handedly raising their five year old son, Orion. 

The Austrian drama, 'What We Wanted' directed by Ulrike Kofler. The movie follows a story of a couple who have been trying for a baby take a holiday to Sardinia where they meet another couple.

'Quo Vadis, Aida?' is a 2020 war drama film written and directed by Jasmila Zbanic. Set in war, the movie sees UN translator Aida tries to save her family after the Army of Republika Srpska takes over the city of Srebrenica and begins the ethnic cleansing of its Bosniak population.

'Extracurricular' is a 2019 Croatian comedy film directed by Ivan-Goran Vitez. The movie folllows a story of a father, who is recently divorced and is told that he can't see his nine-year-old daughter on her birthday, so he holds her classroom hostage with a gun and a birthday cake.

The 2020 Czech biographical drama 'Charlata' directed by Polish director Agnieszka Holland. The movie is about a Czech healer Jan Mikolášek (1889-1973) who cured hundreds of people using plant-based remedies. 

India has made its selection for Oscars 2021 Best international Feature Film category and its Malayalam director Lijo Jose Pellissery’s ‘Jallikattu’. The movie revolves around a tamed buffalo that liberates itself from its owner on the eve of its scheduled slaughter and runs amok through a town in Kerala’s Idduki district. The film is based on the short story Maoist by S Hareesh, who has also written the screenplay along with R Jayakumar.

 Dea Kulumbegashvili directorial, 'Beginning', follows the story of  Yana, the wife of Jehovah's Witness religious leader David, becomes disillusioned with her life inside a patriarchal religious community after its Kingdom Hall is firebombed by violent extremists. 

'And Tomorrow the Entire World' is German-French political drama film directed by Julia von Heinz. The movie follows the story of a Luisa, a 20-year-old law student from an upper-class family, joins Antifa because she is opposed to the rise of the political right in Germany.

'Exile' a 2020 Kosovan drama directed by Visar Morina. The movie is based on a Kosovan immigrant living in Germany believes he's a victim of xenophobia, but it may be his own paranoia spiraling out of control.

The 2020 documentary film 'River Tales' directed by Julie Schroell. The movie set in the bank of San Juan River in Nicaragua, where a teacher and his students put on a play that explores local identity and the river's colonial and environmental history.

'Never Gonna Snow Again' is a 2020 Polish-German comedy-drama film directed by Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert. The movie is about a man named Zhenia, a Russian-speaking immigrant from the East works as a masseur in Poland and becomes a guru-like figure in a wealthy gated community where his clients live. 

 

 Alexander Nanau directorial 'Collective' follows a crack team of investigators at the Romanian newspaper Gazeta Sporturilor as they try to uncover a vast health-care fraud that enriched moguls and politicians and led to the deaths of innocent citizens.

Stephanie Chuat and Veronique Reymond's 'My Little Sister' the 2020 Swiss drama follows the story of a gifted playwright pushes her twin sibling, a famous stage actor, back into the limelight though he's suffering from cancer.

'Atlantis' , the 2019 Ukrainian film directed by Valentyn Vasyanovych. The movie sees  an environmentally devastated and war-torn eastern Ukraine, a retired soldier loses his job at a smelter. His new job is exhuming corpses.

Malaysia has selected art-house horror film ‘Soul’, the movie is set in an indeterminate period in the past as it tells the story of the arrival of a small girl who brings ominous predictions and strange incidents to a poor family living in a forest.

Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi's latest movie 'Sun Children' is Iran’s official entry for the 93rd Academy Awards. The movie follows the story of a 12-year-old Ali and his three friends. Together they work hard to survive and support their families. In a turn of events that seems miraculous, Ali is entrusted to find hidden treasure underground.

Indonesia has selected horror film ‘Impetigore’ as its choice for Oscars 2021 in Best International Feature Film category. Joko Anwar’s film follows the story of Maya and her friend Dini, who travels to their ancestral village of her birth, unaware that the villagers have been searching for her. They intend to kill her to end a curse.

France has selected its choice of film for Oscars 2021 in the Best International Feature Film category and it is comedy/drama ‘Two of Us’. The movie centers on retirees Nina (Barbara Sukowa) and Madeleine (Martine Chevallier) who have hidden their deep and passionate love for many decades. Everybody, including Madeline’s family, thinks they are simply neighbours. When an unforeseen crisis turns their relationship upside down, Madeline’s daughter (Léa Drucker) begins to gradually unravel the truth between them.

Italy has chosen an observational documentary titled ‘Notturno’ by director Gianfranco Rosi. The documentary was shot over three years across countries like Lebanon, Iraq, Kurdistan, and Syria. Much like his previous works, the director has brought together an impressionistic collage of ordinary people caught up in conflict. 

'You Will Die at Twenty' becomes Sudan's first-ever film to compete in the Oscars Best International Feature category. Based on a short story by Sudanese novelist Hammour Ziyada, the movie follows a story of a young man whose death at the age of 20 is prophesied not long after his birth, casting a shadow over his formative years, and parallels the burdens placed on a generation of Sudan's young people.

African nation Senegal has shortlisted its Oscar 2021 International feature entry and it’s Mamadou Dia’s ‘Nafi’s Father’. The drama film is about family conflict. It had its world premiere at the 2019 Locarno Film Festival and is still seeking US distribution.