Justine Trieu’s Palme d’Or-winning film Anatomy of a Fall is among five films shortlisted by France’s Oscar committee to represent the country in the international feature film race.
The film, which Neon acquired at Cannes, was pre-selected along with The Taste of Things (previously called The Pot-au-Feu), a culinary romance starring Juliette Binoche that won the best director award at Cannes for French movie. Vietnamese film director Trần Anh Hong; “Sons of Ramses” by Clement Cogitore; Thomas Cayley’s supernatural coming-of-age drama Animal Kingdom; and “On the Wandering Paths” by Denis Imbert. Animal Kingdom was bought by Magnolia’s Magnet, while A Taste of Things was bought by IFC Films and Sapan Studios. The selected film will be presented on September 1st. 21.
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France hasn’t won the Oscar for best international film since Regis Warnier’s Indochina in 1993 (it was then named best foreign language film). Last year’s French entry, Alice Diop’s Saint Omer, which won the Silver Lion and Lion of the Future at Venice, missed out on a nomination after being longlisted. France’s most recent nomination in the international feature film category was for Ladj Ly’s 2019 police brutality thriller Les Misérables.
France’s disappointing track record in the category has prompted the National Film Board to revamp its Oscar committee and introduce new members each year who are believed to be familiar with the tastes of Academy voters.
As such, this year’s selection committee includes producers Charles Gillibert (Annette), former Lionsgate boss Patrick Wachsberger and Oscar-winning composer Alexandre Desplat, as well as directors Olivier Assayas (Carlos) and Mounia Meddour (Papicha). and sales agents Sabina Chemali and Tanya Meissner.
A courtroom drama exploring the breakdown of a marriage and a mother-son relationship, Anatomy of a Fall earned its best Palme d’Or result at the French box office in years. The film was produced by David Thion and Marie-Ange Luciani. The film is based on the brilliant performance of German actress Sandra Haller (“Zone of Interest”).
Other films in the running for the shortlist include All Your Faces, Jeanne Herry’s timely ensemble drama starring Gilles Lellouche, Leila Bekhti, Adele Exarchopoulos and Miou-Miou, and Jeanne du Barry. historical film Maiwenn starring Johnny Depp.
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