Yesterday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the shortlists in 12 categories for the 98th Academy Awards: Animated Short Film, Casting, Cinematography, Documentary Feature Film, Documentary Short Film, International Feature Film, Live-Action Short Film, Makeup and Hairstyling, Music (Original Score), Music (Original Song), Sound and Visual Effects.

European cinema once again features prominently across the shortlists, with continental titles and co-productions present in every major category. Out of the 15 films advancing in the International Feature Film category, five are European national submissions, joined by several titles involving European co-production partners. The five national submissions are France’s It Was Just an Accident [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Jafar Panahi
scheda film] by Jafar Panahi, Germany’s Sound of Falling [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Mascha Schilinski
scheda film] by Mascha Schilinski, Spain’s Sirāt [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Óliver Laxe
scheda film] by Óliver Laxe, Switzerland’s Late Shift [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Petra Volpe
scheda film] by Petra Volpe and Norway’s Sentimental Value [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Joachim Trier
scheda film] by Joachim Trier, alongside titles submitted by non-European territories but closely tied to the continent’s production ecosystem – All That’s Left of You [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Cherien Dabis
scheda film] by Cherien Dabis (Germany/Palestine/Jordan/Cyprus), The Secret Agent [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Kleber Mendonça Filho (Brazil/France/Netherlands/Germany), Left-Handed Girl [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Shih-Ching Tsou (Taiwan/USA/UK/France), The Voice of Hind Rajab [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Kaouther Ben Hania
scheda film] by Kaouther Ben Hania (Tunisia/France), Palestine 36 [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Annemarie Jacir (Palestine/UK/France/Denmark/Qatar/Saudi Arabia/Jordan) and No Other Choice [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Park Chan-wook (South Korea/France).

Sirāt has also managed an outstanding feat - one that is not all that common for European films - which is being shortlisted for no fewer than four technical categories, including Best Cinematography, Best Music, Best Sound and this year's new category of Best Casting. Sentimental Value is also present in two other categories (Best Cinematography and Best Casting), whereas Sound of Falling has a nod for Best Cinematography. Other European productions present in the technical categories include Yorgos Lanthimos' Bugonia [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (Ireland/UK/USA/South Korea), in Best Music and Best Cinematography; Richard Linklater's Nouvelle Vague [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (France) and Lynne Ramsay's Die My Love [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (USA/Canada/UK), both in Best Cinematography; and The Ugly Stepsister [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Emilie Blichfeldt (Norway/Poland/Sweden/Denmark), in Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

European productions and co-productions also stand out in the Documentary Feature Film shortlist, which includes a strong contingent of politically and socially engaged titles. Among them are Coexistence, My Ass! [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Amber Fares, Apocalypse in the Tropics by Petra Costa (Brazil/USA/UK), Folktales [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, Mr. Nobody Against Putin [+leggi anche:
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intervista: David Borenstein
scheda film] by David Borenstein, and 2000 Meters to Andriivka [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Mstyslav Chernov, reflecting the continued strength of European non-fiction filmmaking on the international stage. Several of these movies have already made the festival rounds at major European showcases, consolidating their awards momentum.

The short-film categories further underline Europe’s presence. In Animated Short Film, European productions such as Éiru by Giovanna Ferrari, Hurikán by Jan Saska, Playing God by Matteo Burani, I Died in Irpin by Anastasiia Falileieva, The Shyness of Trees by Sofiia Chuikovska, Loïck du Plessis d’Argentré, Lina Han, Simin He, Jiaxin Huang, Maud Le Bras and Bingqing Shu, and The Three Sisters by Timur Kognov advance to the shortlist, while the Live-Action Short Film line-up features a diverse array of European-backed titles, including Beyond Silence by Marnie Blok, The Boy with White Skin by Simon Panay and The Pearl Comb by Ali Cook.

The 98th Oscars ceremony will take place on 15 March 2026 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Here are the Oscar shortlists:

International Feature Film

Argentina: Belén – Dolores Fonzi (Argentina)
Brazil: The Secret Agent [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] – Kleber Mendonça Filho (Brazil/France/Netherlands/Germany)
France: It Was Just an Accident [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Jafar Panahi
scheda film] – Jafar Panahi (France/Luxembourg/Iran)
Germany: Sound of Falling [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Mascha Schilinski
scheda film] - Mascha Schilinski (Germany)
India: Homebound - Neeraj Ghaywan (India)
Iraq: The President’s Cake - Hasan Hadi (Iraq/USA/Qatar)
Japan: Kokuho – Lee Sang-il (Japan)
Jordan: All That’s Left of You [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Cherien Dabis
scheda film] – Cherien Dabis (Germany/Palestine/Jordan/Cyprus)
Norway: Sentimental Value [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Joachim Trier
scheda film] – Joachim Trier (Norway/France/German/Denmark/Sweden/UK)
Palestine: Palestine 36 [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] – Annemarie Jacir (Palestine/UK/France/Denmark/Qatar/Saudi Arabia/Jordan)
South Korea: No Other Choice [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] – Park Chan-wook (South Korea/France)
Spain: Sirāt [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Óliver Laxe
scheda film] - Óliver Laxe (Spain/France)
Switzerland: Late Shift [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Petra Volpe
scheda film] – Petra Volpe (Switzerland/Germany)
Taiwan: Left-Handed Girl [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] – Shih-Ching Tsou (Taiwan/USA/UK/France)
Tunisia: The Voice of Hind Rajab [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Kaouther Ben Hania
scheda film] - Kaouther Ben Hania (Tunisia/France)

Documentary Feature Film

2000 Meters to Andriivka [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] — Mstyslav Chernov (Ukraine/USA)
The Alabama Solution — Andrew Jarecki, Charlotte Kaufman (USA)
Apocalypse in the Tropics — Petra Costa (Brazil/USA/UK)
Coexistence, My Ass! [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] — Amber Fares (USA/France)
Come See Me in the Good Light — Ryan White (USA)
Cover-Up — Laura Poitras, Mark Obenhaus (USA)
Cutting through Rocks [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] — Sara Khaki, Mohammad Reza Eyni (Iran/Qatar/Chile/Canada/Netherlands/Germany/USA)
Folktales [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] — Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady (Norway/USA)
Holding Liat — Brandon Kramer (USA)
Mr. Nobody Against Putin [+leggi anche:
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intervista: David Borenstein
scheda film] — David Borenstein (Denmark/Czech Republic/Germany)
Mistress Dispeller — Elizabeth Lo (China/USA)
My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 – Last Air in Moscow — Julia Loktev (USA)
The Perfect Neighbor — Geeta Gandbhir (USA)
Seeds — Brittany Shyne (USA)
Yanuni — Richard Ladkani (Austria/Brazil/USA/Canada/Germany)

Live-Action Short Film

Ado – Sam Henderson (USA)
Amarela – André Hayato Saito (Brazil)
Beyond Silence – Marnie Blok (Netherlands)
The Boy with White Skin – Simon Panay (France/Senegal)
Butcher’s Stain – Meyer Levinson-Blount (Israel)
Butterfly on a Wheel – Trevor Morris (Canada)
Dad’s Not Home – Jan Saczek (Poland)
Extremist – Alexander Molochnikov (Latvia)
A Friend of Dorothy – Lee Knight (UK)
Jane Austen’s Period Drama – Julia Aks, Steve Pinder (USA)
Pantyhose – Fabian Munsterhjelm (Finland)
The Pearl Comb – Ali Cook (UK)
Rock, Paper, Scissors – Franz Böhm (UK)
The Singers – Sam A Davis (USA)
Two People Exchanging Saliva – Natalie Musteata, Alexandre Singh (France/USA)

Animated Short Film

Autokar – Sylwia Szkiłądź (Belgium/France)
Butterfly – Sunčana Brkulj (Croatia/Denmark)
Cardboard – JP “Jean-Philippe” Vine (UK)
Éiru – Giovanna Ferrari (Ireland)
Forevergreen – Nathan Engelhardt, Jeremy Spears (USA)
The Girl Who Cried Pearls – Chris Lavis, Maciek Szczerbowski (Canada)
Hurikán – Jan Saska (Czech Republic/France/Slovakia/Bosnia and Herzegovina)
I Died in Irpin – Anastasiia Falileieva (Czech Republic/Slovakia/Ukraine)
The Night Boots – Pierre-Luc Granjon (France)
Playing God – Matteo Burani (Italy/France)
The Quinta’s Ghost – James A Castillo (Spain)
Retirement Plan – John Kelly (Ireland)
The Shyness of Trees – Sofiia Chuikovska, Loïck du Plessis d’Argentré, Lina Han, Simin He, Jiaxin Huang, Maud Le Bras, Bingqing Shu (France)
Snow Bear – Aaron Blaise (USA)
The Three Sisters – Timur Kognov (Cyprus)

Documentary Short Film

All the Empty Rooms – Joshua Seftel (USA)
All the Walls Came Down – Ondi Timoner (USA)
Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud – Craig Renaud, Brent Renaud (USA)
Bad Hostage – Mimi Wilcox (USA)
Cashing Out – Matt Nadel (USA)
Chasing Time – Jeff Orlowski-Yang, Sarah Keo (USA)
Children No More: “Were and Are Gone” – Hilla Medalia (Israel)
Classroom 4 – Eden Wurmfeld (USA)
The Devil Is Busy – Geeta Gandbhir, Christalyn Hampton (USA)
Heartbeat – Jay Rosenblatt, Stephanie Rapp (USA)
Last Days on Lake Trinity – Charlotte Cooley (USA)
On Healing Land, Birds Perch – Naja Pham Lockwood (USA)
Perfectly a Strangeness – Alison McAlpine (Canada)
Rovina’s Choice – Thomas Jennings, Annie Wong (USA)
We Were the Scenery – Christopher Radcliff (USA/Canada)

Music (Original Score)

Avatar: Fire and Ash (USA)
Bugonia [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (Ireland/UK/USA/South Korea)
Captain America: Brave New World (USA)
Diane Warren: Relentless (USA)
F1 (USA)
Frankenstein (Mexico/USA)
Hamnet [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (USA/UK)
Hedda (USA)
A House of Dynamite (USA)
Jay Kelly [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (USA/UK/Italy)
Marty Supreme (USA)
Nuremberg (USA)
One Battle after Another (USA)
Sinners (USA)
Sirāt
Train Dreams (USA)
Tron: Ares (USA/Canada/New Zealand)
Truth and Treason (USA)
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (USA)
Wicked: For Good (USA)

Music (Original Song)

“As Alive As You Need Me To Be” – Tron: Ares
“Dear Me” – Diane Warren: Relentless
“Dream As One” – Avatar: Fire and Ash
“Drive” – F1
“Dying to Live” – Billy Idol Should Be Dead (USA)
“The Girl in the Bubble” – Wicked: For Good
“Golden” – KPop Demon Hunters (USA)
“Highest 2 Lowest” – Highest 2 Lowest (USA)
“I Lied To You” – Sinners
“Last Time (I Seen the Sun)” – Sinners
“No Place Like Home” – Wicked: For Good
“Our Love” – The Ballad of Wallis Island [+leggi anche:
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“Salt Then Sour Then Sweet” – Come See Me in the Good Light
“Sweet Dreams of Joy” – Viva Verdi! (USA)
“Train Dreams” – Train Dreams

Sound

Avatar: Fire and Ash
F1
Frankenstein
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (USA)
One Battle after Another
Sinners
Sirāt
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (USA)
Superman (USA)
Wicked: For Good

Visual Effects

Avatar: Fire and Ash
The Electric State (USA)
F1
Frankenstein
Jurassic World Rebirth (USA)
The Lost Bus (USA)
Sinners
Superman
Tron: Ares
Wicked: For Good

Makeup and Hairstyling

The Alto Knights (USA)
Frankenstein
Kokuho
Marty Supreme
Nuremberg
One Battle after Another
Sinners
The Smashing Machine (USA)
The Ugly Stepsister [+leggi anche:
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trailer
scheda film] (Norway/Poland/Sweden/Denmark)
Wicked: For Good