Awards, Features, Films, Women Directors

Foreign-Language Oscar Race is 27 Percent Women-Directed

Mattie Do’s “Dearest Sister” was submitted by Laos

We’ll have to wait until January 23 for Oscar nominations to be announced, but the Academy has released the titles of all of the films competing in the foreign-language Oscar race. According to Deadline, a record-setting number of countries have submitted films for consideration in the category. Of 92 films vying for a nomination, 25 are directed or co-directed by women by our count — an encouraging 27 percent. A nine-film shortlist will follow before final nominations are revealed.

Nineteen percent of last year’s crop of films submitted in this category were directed or co-directed by women. Just one of them ended up scoring a nod — Maren Ade’s daughter-father dramedy “Toni Erdmann.”

For comparison’s sake, consider the fact that none of this year’s or last year’s Best Picture nominees were helmed by women. The last time a woman-directed film received a Best Picture nomination was Ava DuVernay’s “Selma” back in 2015. So, women directors are better represented in the foreign-language category — featuring women directors from all over the world — than the largely American Best Picture race.

We’ve reported on some of the women-helmed features that have been submitted for the upcoming 90th Academy Awards, including Roya Sadat’s “A Letter to the President,” a drama about an official grappling with tribal laws, Angelina Jolie’s “First They Killed My Father,” an adaptation of human rights activist Loung Ung’s non-fiction book, and Annemarie Jacir’s “Wajib,” a dramedy about a father and his estranged son.

Other titles in the running include Mattie Do’s “Dearest Sister,” the story of a girl who can communicate with the dead, and Mijke de Jong’s “Layla M.” a drama about a teenage Muslim who becomes radicalized.

Check out all of the women-directed films submitted by their respective countries below. List adapted from Deadline.

Afghanistan, “A Letter to the President,” Roya Sadat, director;
Argentina, “Zama,” Lucrecia Martel, director;
Armenia, “Yeva,” Anahit Abad, director;
Australia, “The Space Between,” Ruth Borgobello, director;
Bulgaria, “Glory,” Petar Valchanov, Kristina Grozeva, directors;
Cambodia, “First They Killed My Father,” Angelina Jolie, director;
Croatia, “Quit Staring at My Plate,” Hana Jušić, director;;
Ecuador, “Alba,” Ana Cristina Barragán, director;
Georgia, “Scary Mother,” Ana Urushadze, director;
Haiti, “Ayiti Mon Amour,” Guetty Felin, director;
Hungary, “On Body and Soul,” Ildikó Enyedi, director;
Iran, “Breath,” Narges Abyar, director;
Lao People’s Democratic Republic, “Dearest Sister,” Mattie Do, director;
Luxembourg, “Barrage,” Laura Schroeder, director;
Mexico, “Tempestad,” Tatiana Huezo, director;
Netherlands, “Layla M.,” Mijke de Jong, director;
Palestine, “Wajib,” Annemarie Jacir, director;
Panama, “Beyond Brotherhood,” Arianne Benedetti, director;
Poland, “Spoor,” Agnieszka Holland, Kasia Adamik, directors;
Singapore, “Pop Aye,” Kirsten Tan, director;
Slovenia, “The Miner,” Hanna A. W. Slak, director;
Spain, “Summer 1993,” Carla Simón, director;
Switzerland, “The Divine Order,” Petra Volpe, director;
Taiwan, “Small Talk,” Hui-Chen Huang, director;
Thailand, “By the Time It Gets Dark,” Anocha Suwichakornpong, director;

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