Zvyagintsev's 'Minotaur' Lands on Germany's Oscar Longlist — But France May Claim It First
A Russian-language drama by an exiled director has landed on Germany's longlist for the Best International Feature Film Oscar — with an asterisk attached.
Andrey Zvyagintsev's Minotaur was among eleven films named by German Films, Germany's Oscar submission coordinator, for the 99th Academy Awards competition in the International Feature Film category, according to the agency's press release published 17 August 2026 German Films. But Minotaur was the only title on the list to carry the word "provisionally" beside its name, because it could also be submitted by France Deadline.
The reason is a tangled production chain. Minotaur is a French-German-Latvian co-production about a high-powered Russian executive whose controlled life unravels amid professional crises, global upheaval, and marital betrayal. France is considered the primary producer: Paris-based MK2 and CG Cinema are aboard, with MK2 handling international sales and Arte France providing financing. Germany is the secondary partner. Latvia hosted the entire shoot but holds a minority co-producer credit and is unlikely to enter the film as its own Oscar hopeful Deadline.
Under Academy rules, only one country may submit a given film. So both France and Germany are weighing their options, and Minotaur sits in limbo until one of them commits.
The film arrives with serious festival credentials. It won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival and has been selected for the Special Presentations programme at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival Deadline. Variety's 2027 Oscar predictions list Minotaur as a contender from France, with Mubi as its distributor Variety. Screen Daily, reviewing the film out of Cannes, described it as a remake of Claude Chabrol's 1969 film The Unfaithful Wife (La Femme infidèle), reimagined as a domestic thriller with fresh cultural and political context Screen Daily.
What gives the story an extra edge is Zvyagintsev himself. The director is living in exile, and Minotaur is widely regarded as a veiled attack on the Russian regime. His two previous Oscar nominations — for Leviathan (2014) and Loveless (2017) — came under the Russian flag. If Minotaur earns a nomination this cycle, it would be under a different country's banner entirely Deadline.
The Oscar calendar now sets the pace. German Films' press release states that the 15-title shortlist of eligible films will be announced on 15 December 2026 German Films. That shortlist narrows the field before final nominations voting begins.
Until France or Germany makes its pick, Minotaur belongs to no one — and is in play for both.
