The best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards was Thomas Vinterberg’s “Another Round” from Denmark, the country’s fourth win in the category. “Another Round” was the thirteenth nomination for Denmark. It won back-to-back Oscars for “Babette’s Feast” (1987) and “Pelle the Conqueror” (1988), and won again for “In a Better World (2010)”. Other nominations were for Qivitoq (1956), Paw (1959), Harry and the Butler (1961), Waltzing Regitze (1989), After the Wedding (2006), A Royal Affair (2012), The Hunt (2013), A War (2015) and Land of Mine (2016).
Ninety-three countries submitted films that were eligible for consideration in the International Feature Film category for the 93rd Academy Awards. An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (more than 40 minutes) produced outside the United States with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track. Lesotho, Sudan and Suriname are first-time entrants.
The five nominated films for the 93rd Academy Awards were:
- “Another Round” Denmark, Directed by Thomas Vinterberg
- “Better Days” Hong Kong, Directed by Derek Kwok-cheung Tsang
- “Collective” Romania, Directed by Alexander Nanau
- “The Man Who Sold His Skin” Tunisia, Directed by Kaouther Ben Hania
- “Quo Vadis, Aida?” Bosnia and Herzegovina, Directed by Jasmila Žbanić
Another Round is the thirteenth nomination for Denmark. It won back-to-back Oscars for Babette’s Feast (1987) and Pelle the Conqueror (1988), and won again for In a Better World (2010). Other nominations were for Qivitoq (1956), Paw (1959), Harry and the Butler (1961), Waltzing Regitze (1989), After the Wedding (2006), A Royal Affair (2012), The Hunt (2013), A War (2015) and Land of Mine (2016).
Better Days is the third nomination for Hong Kong. Previous nominations were for Raise the Red Lantern (1991) and Farewell My Concubine (1993).
Collective (Romania) is the first nomination for Romania and The Man Who Sold His Skin (Tunisia) is the first nomination for Tunisia.
With its first nomination, Tunisia becomes the fifth country from the continent of Africa to be nominated for International Feature Film. The Man Who Sold His Skin is the tenth film nominated from the region. Previous nominations include five films from Algeria, two from South Africa, and one each from Ivory Coast and Mauritania.
Quo Vadis, Aida? is the second nomination for Bosnia and Herzegovina. It won the Oscar in 2001 for No Man’s Land.
Earlier this year, the Academy’s Board of Governors voted to expand the shortlist from 10 to 15 films. Academy members from all branches were invited to participate in the preliminary round of voting and must meet a minimum viewing requirement to be eligible to vote in the category.
The shortlist of 15 films, announced on Tuesday, February 9, 2021, is:
- Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Quo Vadis, Aida?”
- Chile, “The Mole Agent”
- Czech Republic, “Charlatan”
- Denmark, “Another Round”
- France, “Two of Us”
- Guatemala, “La Llorona”
- Hong Kong, “Better Days”
- Iran, “Sun Children”
- Ivory Coast, “Night of the Kings”
- Mexico, “I’m No Longer Here”
- Norway, “Hope”
- Romania, “Collective”
- Russia, “Dear Comrades!”
- Taiwan, “A Sun”
- Tunisia, “The Man Who Sold His Skin”
The 93 films submitted were:
- Albania, “Open Door”
- Argentina, “The Sleepwalkers”
- Armenia, “Songs of Solomon”
- Austria, “What We Wanted”
- Bangladesh, “Sincerely Yours, Dhaka”
- Belgium, “Working Girls”
- Bolivia, “Chaco”
- Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Quo Vadis, Aida?”
- Brazil, “Babenco – Tell Me When I Die”
- Bulgaria, “The Father”
- Cambodia, “Fathers”
- Cameroon, “The Fisherman’s Diary”
- Canada, “14 Days, 12 Nights”
- Chile, “The Mole Agent”
- China, “Leap”
- Colombia, “El Olvido Que Seremos (Memories of My Father)”
- Costa Rica, “Land of Ashes”
- Croatia, “Extracurricular”
- Cuba, “Buscando a Casal”
- Czech Republic, “Charlatan”
- Denmark, “Another Round”
- Dominican Republic, “A State of Madness”
- Ecuador, “Emptiness”
- Egypt, “When We’re Born”
- Estonia, “The Last Ones”
- Finland, “Tove”
- France, “Two of Us”
- Georgia, “Beginning”
- Germany, “And Tomorrow the Entire World”
- Greece, “Apples”
- Guatemala, “La Llorona”
- Honduras, “Days of Light”
- Hong Kong, “Better Days”
- Hungary, “Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time”
- Iceland, “Agnes Joy”
- India, “Jallikattu”
- Indonesia, “Impetigore”
- Iran, “Sun Children”
- Ireland, “Arracht”
- Israel, “Asia”
- Italy, “Notturno”
- Ivory Coast, “Night of the Kings”
- Japan, “True Mothers”
- Jordan, “200 Meters”
- Kazakhstan, “The Crying Steppe”
- Kenya, “The Letter”
- Kosovo, “Exile”
- Kyrgyzstan, “Running to the Sky”
- Latvia, “Blizzard of Souls”
- Lebanon, “Broken Keys”
- Lesotho, “This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection”
- Lithuania, “Nova Lituania”
- Luxembourg, “River Tales”
- Malaysia, “Roh”
- Mexico, “I’m No Longer Here”
- Mongolia, “Veins of the World”
- Montenegro, “Breasts”
- Morocco, “The Unknown Saint”
- Netherlands, “Buladó”
- Nigeria, “The Milkmaid”
- North Macedonia, “Willow”
- Norway, “Hope”
- Pakistan, “Circus of Life”
- Palestine, “Gaza Mon Amour”
- Panama, “Operation Just Cause”
- Paraguay, “Killing the Dead”
- Peru, “Song without a Name”
- Philippines, “Mindanao”
- Poland, “Never Gonna Snow Again”
- Portugal, “Vitalina Varela”
- Romania, “Collective”
- Russia, “Dear Comrades!”
- Saudi Arabia, “Scales”
- Senegal, “Nafi’s Father”
- Serbia, “Dara of Jasenovac”
- Singapore, “Wet Season”
- Slovakia, “The Auschwitz Report”
- Slovenia, “Stories from the Chestnut Woods”
- South Africa, “Toorbos”
- South Korea, “The Man Standing Next”
- Spain, “The Endless Trench”
- Sudan, “You Will Die at Twenty”
- Suriname, “Wiren”
- Sweden, “Charter”
- Switzerland, “My Little Sister”
- Taiwan, “A Sun”
- Thailand, “Happy Old Year”
- Tunisia, “The Man Who Sold His Skin”
- Turkey, “Miracle in Cell No. 7”
- Ukraine, “Atlantis”
- Uruguay, “Aleli”
- Venezuela, “Once upon a Time in Venezuela”
- Vietnam, “Dreamy Eyes”
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