France selects exiled Russian director Zvyagintsev's Russian-language 'Minotaur' as its Oscar contender
France has chosen exiled Russian filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev's 'Minotaur,' winner of this year's Cannes Grand Prix, as its submission for the Best International Feature Oscar.
France's Oscar selection committee has picked Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev's film 'Minotaur' as the country's entry for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, according to Variety. The decision followed meetings with producers, international sales agents, and U.S. distributors representing the five shortlisted films.
'Minotaur' was co-produced by French companies CG Cinéma and MK Productions, both run by Charles Gillibert. The story follows a company director preparing for mass layoffs after being ordered to send 14 employees to war, while simultaneously discovering his wife's affair.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will reveal a 15-film shortlist for Best International Feature Film on December 15, with nominees announced January 21. The 99th Academy Awards ceremony is set for March 14, 2027.
Last year, France submitted Iranian director Jafar Panahi's 'A Simple Accident,' which had won the Palme d'Or at Cannes and went on to receive an Oscar nomination.
'Minotaur' marks Zvyagintsev's first film in nearly a decade, following 2017's 'Loveless' ('Nelyubov'). The director fell seriously ill with COVID-19 during the pandemic and underwent extended rehabilitation abroad. He did not return to Russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022. In May of this year, 'Minotaur' won the Grand Prix at the 79th Cannes Film Festival.
