France Unveils Shortlist of Five Films for the International Oscar Race, From ‘Minotaur’ to ‘De Gaulle’ and ‘Iron Boy’
The shortlist pairs Cannes momentum with U.S. distribution support as France weighs prestige, awards prospects and box-office strength before its Oscar pick.
- On Thursday, France's National Film Board unveiled five films shortlisted to represent the country at the 99th Academy Awards, including Andrey Zvyagintsev's Minotaur and Antonin Baudry's The Battle of De Gaulle: The Iron Age.
- Rounding out the selections are Louis Clichy's animated feature Le Corset, Marine Atlan's La Gradiva, and Arthur Harari's The Unknown, starring Lea Seydoux and Niels Schneider.
- Zvyagintsev's Minotaur carries significant prestige after winning the Cannes Grand Prize, while Baudry's De Gaulle revisits World War II through the lens of General Charles de Gaulle.
- The CNC committee will reconvene on September 16 to hear presentations from producers and international sales agents before finalizing the single film for the Best International Oscar race.
- France maintains a strong historical record in this category but has not secured an Oscar win since Regis Wargnier's Indochine took the prize in 1993, raising stakes for the chosen submission.
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France reveals its film shortlist for Oscars
With a historical epic, an animation and a previous winner, France has selected its shortlist of films to compete for the Best International Film in next year's Oscars - but who actually makes that decision and how are films chosen?
EADaily, 11 September 2026, a new film by Russian film director Andrei Zvigiantsev, "Minotavre", was placed on the shortlist of applicants for the Oscar Award in the category "Best International Art Film" from France.
"La Bataille de Gaulle: l'âge de fer" is included in the list of five works selected to represent France in the race at Oscar 2027 for the best international film. Producers of all the candidates will be heard by the CNC commission on 16 September. Popular success, Antonin Baudry's film will be in competition with "Minotaure" by Russian Andreï Zviaguintsev. - Oscars 2027: "La Bataille de Gaulle" to make (finally) triumph over France in Hollywood…
"Le Corset", "La Gradiva", "L'Unknown" and "Minotaure" are the other pre-selected feature films
‘Minotaur’ Included In France's International Oscar Shortlist
Antonin Baudry’s political biopic De Gaulle and Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Cannes competition drama Minotaur are among the five titles that have been shortlisted to represent France in the Best International Oscar race at the 99th Academy Awards. Announced this afternoon by the CNC, France’s national film board, the full shortlist includes De Gaulle and Minotaur alongside […]
Five films were shortlisted to represent France at the Oscars in March 2027.
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