Armenia, Brazil, Croatia, Israel, Japan, Lebanon, Serbia, and Taiwan have submitted entries for the 95th Academy Awards in the International Film Category.
The films range from thrillers to animation to dramas, all with a compelling story to tell.
The entries for our picks for this year’s top contenders are as follows:
Armenia enters with Aurora’s Sunshine
Based on a true story, Aurora’s Sunshine tells the story of Aurora (Arshaluys) Mardiganian, an Armenian genocide survivor who goes on to find success in Hollywood and becomes the face of one of the largest charity campaigns in American history. The film combines animation and archival documentary footage to tell this story of survival under the direction of Inna Sahakyan.
Brazil enters with Mars One
Mars One is about the Martins family, a lower-middle-class Black family in Brazil navigating life after the election of a far-right extremist president in their country. An unexpected encounter leaves the mother wondering if she is cursed. The father puts all of his hopes on his son’s soccer career, even though the son secretly aspires to study astrophysics and colonize Mars. The daughter falls in love with a young woman and wonders if she should leave home. Gabriel Martins wrote and directed the film.
Croatia enters with Safe Place
Safe Place is a drama feature that shows how quickly things can change for a family after one of its members attempts suicide. Juraj Lerotić wrote, directed, and stars in this film that is based on his family’s story.
Israel enters with Cinema Sabaya
In Cinema Sabaya, Rona, a young film director, teaches Arab and Jewish women how to document their lives in a video workshop. As the women begin to share their footage and get to know each other better, it forces them to challenge their views and their beliefs. Orit Fouks Rotem wrote and directed.
Japan enters with Plan 75
Lebanon enters with Memory Box
In Memory Box, Maia and her daughter Alex receive an unexpected package from Beirut on Christmas day that contains correspondence, tapes, photos, and notebooks from Maia’s youth. Maia refuses to open the box because she does not want to confront her memories. Alex, on the other hand, digs into the box and discovers her mother’s secrets, and learns more about the world she lived in during her adolescence in 1980s Beirut. Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige directed and wrote the film.
Serbia enters with Darkling
This thriller is told from the perspective of Milica, a young girl in Kosovo who lives with her family. They barricade themselves in a house every night, afraid of the terrors coming from the woods that surround them, only it’s unclear if something truly frightening is happening or if it’s just their imaginations, as KFOR officials would have them believe. Dusan Milic directed and wrote the film.
Taiwan enters with Goddamned Asura
Goddamned Asura is a psychological drama inspired by true events that tell the story of Jan-Wen, a young man who goes on a random shooting spree on his eighteenth birthday. Everyone directly and indirectly touched by the tragic incident must then deal with the aftermath in their lives. The film delves into the shooting homicide through six characters, a popular video game, an alternate reality, and reincarnations. Lou Yi-An directed and co-wrote it with Singing Chen.
Nominations are scheduled to be announced Tuesday, January 24, 2023. The 95th Academy Awards are set to take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California on March 12, 2023, and will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.
