Italy lines up 21 films in race for Oscar submission
Italy has put 21 films forward for consideration as its submission for Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards, Deadline reported on September 16.
The decision now sits with a selection committee overseen by Anica, the Italian film industry association that manages the national selection. The group will meet at Anica on September 23 to choose a single title to send to the Academy. That chosen film becomes Italy's official entry in the category, the Oscar prize for feature films made outside the United States.
Every film on the 21-title list was released in cinemas in Italy between October 1, 2025 and September 30, 2026. That twelve-month window sets the eligibility period for this cycle. Only theatrically released work qualifies, which keeps the focus on films that have already met Italian audiences.
Three of the contenders arrived with recent Venice attention. Nanni Moretti's It Will Happen Tonight competed for the Golden Lion, the top prize at the Venice Film Festival, at the 2026 edition. Marco Bechis's Return to Buenos Aires, also listed as Back To Buenos Aires, was in that same Golden Lion field. Paolo Strippoli's The Spiral, known in Italian as l'estranea, completed the trio of Venice competitors under consideration.
The list spreads well beyond the festival circuit. It includes Tommaso Landucci's The House of the Monkey, a title that puts a newer directing voice alongside established names. It also includes Isabel Coixet's Three Goodbyes, known in Italian as Tre Ciotole, and Damiano Michieletto's Primavera. Each has cleared the same theatrical test in Italy during the qualifying year.
The field is slightly smaller than last time. A year earlier, Italy had 24 films in the running to become its candidate for the 98th Academy Awards, Deadline reported. The step down from 24 to 21 does not change the task facing voters, who must still settle on one name.
Italy has a long record in this category. Its most recent win came in 2014 with The Great Beauty by Paolo Sorrentino. That history means each new selection carries weight at home, even before the international contest begins.
The calendar from here moves quickly. Italy will confirm its pick after the September 23 meeting, leaving several months of campaigning and screenings before the Academy acts. The Academy will announce its shortlists across categories on December 15, according to Anica. That shortlist cut narrows the international field before final nominations are decided.
For fans watching from afar, this is the point where the race sharpens. Twenty-one titles are in. Soon there will be one. Then the wider awards season takes over, with screenings, debates and predictions building toward the ceremony itself.
