94th Academy Awards

“Drive My Car” from Japan, directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, won the Oscar for best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards. It was Japan’s fifth win in the category, and first since “Departures” in 2008.

“Drive My Car” was  the fourteenth nomination for Japan. Previous nominations were for Harp of Burma (1956), Immortal Love (1961), Twin Sisters of Kyoto (1963), Woman in the Dunes (1964), Kwaidan (1965), Portrait of Chieko (1967), Dodes’ka-Den (1971), Sandakan No. 8 (1975), Kagemusha (The Shadow Warrior) (1980), Muddy River (1981), The Twilight Samurai (2003), Departures (2008), which won the award, and Shoplifters (2018).

Prior to the establishment of a regular award category in 1956, Japan received three Honorary Foreign Language Film Awards for Rashomon (1951), Gate of Hell (1954) and Samurai, The Legend of Musashi (1955).

Ryusuke Hamaguchi accepts the Oscar for International Feature during the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, CA, on Sunday, 27 March.

Ninety-three countries submitted films that were eligible for consideration in the International Feature Film category for the 94th Academy Awards, the same number as submitted for the 93rd and 92nd Academy Awards.

The five nominated films for the 94th Academy Awards were:

Drive My Car (Japan) Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi. – This is the fourteenth nomination for Japan. Previous nominations were for Harp of Burma (1956), Immortal Love (1961), Twin Sisters of Kyoto (1963), Woman in the Dunes (1964), Kwaidan (1965), Portrait of Chieko (1967), Dodes’ka-Den (1971), Sandakan No. 8 (1975), Kagemusha (The Shadow Warrior) (1980), Muddy River (1981), The Twilight Samurai (2003), Departures (2008), which won the award, and Shoplifters (2018). Prior to the establishment of a regular award category in 1956, Japan received three Honorary Foreign Language Film Awards for Rashomon (1951), Gate of Hell (1954) and Samurai, The Legend of Musashi (1955).

Flee (Denmark Directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen – This is the fourteenth nomination for Denmark. It has won four Oscars: for Babette’s Feast (1987), Pelle the Conqueror (1988), In a Better World (2010) and last year’s Another Round (2020). 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).

The Hand of God (Italy) Directed by Paolo Sorrentino – This is the twenty-ninth nomination for Italy. It has won the award eleven times: for La Strada (1956), The Nights of Cabiria (1957), Federico Fellini’s 81⁄2 (1963), Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1964), Investigation of a Citizen above Suspicion (1970), The Garden of the Finzi Continis (1971), Amarcord (1974), Cinema Paradiso (1989), Mediterraneo (1991), Life Is Beautiful (1998) and The Great Beauty (2013). Prior to the establishment of a regular award category in 1956, Italy also received three Special/Honorary Awards, for Shoe-Shine (1947), The Bicycle Thief (1949) and The Walls of Malapaga (1950) [shared with France]. Other nominations were for The Usual Unidentified Thieves (1958), The Great War (1959), Kapo (1960), The Four Days of Naples (1962), Marriage Italian Style (1965), The Battle of Algiers (1966), The Girl with the Pistol (1968), Scent of a Woman (1975), Seven Beauties (1976), A Special Day (1977), Viva Italia! (1978), To Forget Venice (1979), Three Brothers (1981), The Family (1987), Open Doors (1990), The Star Maker (1995) and Don’t Tell (2005).

Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom (Bhutan) Directed by Pawo Choyning Dorji – This is the first nomination for Bhutan.

The Worst Person in the World (Norway) Directed by Joachim Trier. This is the sixth nomination for Norway. Previous nominations were for Nine Lives (1957), Pathfinder (1987), The Other Side of Sunday (1996), Elling (2001) and Kon-Tiki (2012).

The shortlist of 15 films announced on Tuesday, 21 December 2021 were in alphabetical order by country, are:

Austria, “Great Freedom”
Belgium, “Playground”
Bhutan, “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom”
Denmark, “Flee”
Finland, “Compartment No. 6”
Germany, “I’m Your Man”
Iceland, “Lamb”
Iran, “A Hero”
Italy, “The Hand of God”
Japan, “Drive My Car”
Kosovo, “Hive”
Mexico, “Prayers for the Stolen”
Norway, “The Worst Person in the World”
Panama, “Plaza Catedral”
Spain, “The Good Boss”

The full list of the 93 films submitted were:

  1. Albania, “Two Lions to Venice”
  2. Algeria, “Heliopolis”
  3. Argentina, “The Intruder”
  4. Armenia, “Should the Wind Drop”
  5. Australia, “When Pomegranates Howl”
  6. Austria, “Great Freedom”
  7. Azerbaijan, “The Island Within”
  8. Bangladesh, “Rehana”
  9. Belgium, “Playground”
  10. Bhutan, “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom”
  11. Bolivia, “The Great Movement”
  12. Bosnia and Herzegovina, “The White Fortress”
  13. Brazil, “Private Desert”
  14. Bulgaria, “Fear”
  15. Cambodia, “White Building”
  16. Cameroon, “Hidden Dreams”
  17. Canada, “Drunken Birds”
  18. Chad, “Lingui, The Sacred Bonds”
  19. Chile, “White on White”
  20. China, “Cliff Walkers”
  21. Colombia, “Memoria”
  22. Costa Rica, “Clara Sola”
  23. Croatia, “Tereza37”
  24. Czech Republic, “Zátopek”
  25. Denmark, “Flee”
  26. Dominican Republic, “Holy Beasts”
  27. Ecuador, “Submersible”
  28. Egypt, “Souad”
  29. Estonia, “On the Water”
  30. Finland, “Compartment No. 6”
  31. France, “Titane”
  32. Georgia, “Brighton 4th”
  33. Germany, “I’m Your Man”
  34. Greece, “Digger”
  35. Haiti, “Freda”
  36. Hong Kong, “Zero to Hero”
  37. Hungary, “Post Mortem”
  38. Iceland, “Lamb”
  39. India, “Pebbles”
  40. Indonesia, “Yuni”
  41. Iran, “A Hero”
  42. Iraq, “Europa”
  43. Ireland, “Shelter”
  44. Israel, “Let It Be Morning”
  45. Italy, “The Hand of God”
  46. Japan, “Drive My Car”
  47. Jordan, “Amira”
  48. Kazakhstan, “Yellow Cat”
  49. Kenya, “Mission to Rescue”
  50. Kosovo, “Hive”
  51. Kyrgyzstan, “Shambala”
  52. Latvia, “The Pit”
  53. Lebanon, “Costa Brava, Lebanon”
  54. Lithuania, “Isaac”
  55. Luxembourg, “Io Sto Bene”
  56. Malawi, “Fatsani: A Tale of Survival”
  57. Malaysia, “Hail, Driver!”
  58. Malta, “Luzzu”
  59. Mexico, “Prayers for the Stolen”
  60. Montenegro, “After the Winter”
  61. Morocco, “Casablanca Beats”
  62. Netherlands, “Do Not Hesitate”
  63. North Macedonia, “Sisterhood”
  64. Norway, “The Worst Person in the World”
  65. Palestine, “The Stranger”
  66. Panama, “Plaza Catedral”
  67. Paraguay, “Nothing but the Sun”
  68. Peru, “Powerful Chief”
  69. Poland, “Leave No Traces”
  70. Portugal, “The Metamorphosis of Birds”
  71. Romania, “Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn”
  72. Russia, “Unclenching the Fists”
  73. Saudi Arabia, “The Tambour of Retribution”
  74. Serbia, “Oasis”
  75. Singapore, “Precious Is the Night”
  76. Slovakia, “107 Mothers”
  77. Slovenia, “Sanremo”
  78. Somalia, “The Gravedigger’s Wife”
  79. South Africa, “Barakat”
  80. South Korea, “Escape from Mogadishu”
  81. Spain, “The Good Boss”
  82. Sweden, “Tigers”
  83. Switzerland, “Olga”
  84. Taiwan, “The Falls”
  85. Thailand, “The Medium”
  86. Tunisia, “Golden Butterfly”
  87. Turkey, “Commitment Hasan”
  88. Ukraine, “Bad Roads”
  89. United Kingdom, “Dying to Divorce”
  90. Uruguay, “The Broken Glass Theory”
  91. Uzbekistan, “2000 Songs of Farida”
  92. Venezuela, “The Inner Glow”
  93. Vietnam, “Dad, I’m Sorry