The contest for the 98th Academy Awards’ international feature statue has begun in earnest, with countries already staking their claims months before the 1 October submission deadline set by the Academy. Turkey fired the starting pistol on 15 July when its selection committee chose Murat Fıratoğlu’s debut One of Those Days When Hemme Dies, a Venice prize‑winner about post‑coup trauma, as the nation’s official entry. The pick surfaced alongside the Academy’s newly issued checklist emphasising anti‑discrimination assurances and proof of theatrical release within the 1 Oct 2024–30 Sep 2025 window.
Other markets are still winnowing candidates. Greece opened its call for submissions this month, giving producers until 28 July to file under revised rules that require an equal‑opportunity plan for crew hires. The Czech Film and Television Academy circulated a shortlist comprising Karlovy Vary award‑winner Broken Voices, Zuzana Kirchnerová’s desert drama Caravan, and Klára Tasovská’s essay film I’m Not Everything I Want to Be; critics accuse the body of “manipulative” lobbying after an internal memo urged members to back Broken Voices.
South Korea, which has cracked the category’s shortlist three times in five years, announced a bumper longlist of 19 titles, including Cannes science‑fiction breakout The Killers and webtoon adaptation Omniscient Reader: The Prophet; the Korea Film Council will reveal its final nominee in early September. Meanwhile, a live tracker run by advocacy site International‑Feature.com notes that Czechia and Singapore are the only territories to have published shortlists so far, while Turkey remains the lone confirmed submission.
Industry watchers say the early manoeuvring reflects the compressed Oscar calendar: eligibility ends 30 September, and the Academy screening committees start viewing entries a week later, leaving little margin for latecomers. Voters will weigh a field expected to top 90 films, roughly matching last year’s record, before unveiling a 15‑title shortlist on 17 December.
For now, the race features only a single confirmed contender, but the outlines of regional strategy are visible: Turkey capitalising on Venice cachet, Korea testing depth with a crowded slate, and smaller European nations debating whether festival acclaim or domestic relevance plays best with Academy voters. With six weeks left before the gate closes, the international derby is already a study in both national pride and Oscar pragmatism.
