Austria Sends Sandra Hüller's 'Rose' to the International Feature Oscar Race
Austria has selected Rose, a black-and-white period drama starring Sandra Hüller, as its entry for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. The film is directed by Markus Schleinzer and is an Austrian-German production from Schubert, Row Pictures and Walker + Worm Film, produced by Johannes Schubert, Philipp Worm, Tobias Walker and Karsten Stöter (Deadline).
Set in 17th-century Germany during the Thirty Years' War, Rose follows a mysterious soldier who appears in a secluded Protestant village. The film explores questions of gender identity, and Hüller plays the title role — a performance that has already earned major recognition on the festival circuit (Reuters; Deadline).
Rose had its world premiere in competition at the 2026 Berlinale — the Berlin International Film Festival — where it competed for the Golden Bear, the festival's top prize. Hüller won the Silver Bear for best leading performance, the festival's acting honour (Deadline; Berlinale).
For Hüller, an Oscar nominee, the selection adds another chapter to a career that has made her one of European cinema's most watched performers (Deadline). The International Feature Oscar category — formerly called Best Foreign Language Film — sees each country submit one film; a shortlist of fifteen is then narrowed to five nominees by Academy voters.
Behind the camera, Schleinzer brings a distinctive background. He spent roughly two decades as one of Europe's most sought-after casting directors, working with filmmakers including Jessica Hausner, Ulrich Seidl and Michael Haneke. For Haneke's The White Ribbon, which itself won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 2009, Schleinzer cast the child actors and directed their performances on set. Rose is his third feature, following Michael (2011) and Angelo (2018) (Deadline).
The film's path to audiences is already set. Mubi, the distributor and streaming platform, acquired all rights to Rose in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Turkey, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand. Sales are handled by The Match Factory, the Mubi-owned international sales agent (Deadline).
What gives the selection added weight is the convergence of festival pedigree, a proven international sales operation, and a lead performer whose name already registers with Academy voters. Austria's submission does not guarantee a nomination — the international feature race is competitive, and dozens of entries are narrowed down through several voting rounds. But a Berlinale acting prize, a Mubi release across major territories, and Hüller's existing Oscar profile give Rose a foundation that many submitted films will not have.
The ninety-seventh Academy Awards ceremony is scheduled for early 2027. Shortlists and nominations will be announced in the months ahead.
