U.K. Picks 'Rehearsals for a Revolution' for 2027 Oscars Race
The U.K. has chosen Pegah Ahangarani's 'Rehearsals for a Revolution' as its entry for Best International Feature Film, the Academy's award for films made outside the United States, at the 99th Academy Awards, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The selection was reported on 10 October 2026. It gives Britain its single contender in that category.
The film arrives with a major festival prize already secured. It won the L'Oeil d'Or, the Cannes Film Festival award for best documentary, according to The Hollywood Reporter. That prize is decided at Cannes each May and is recognised across the industry as the festival's top documentary honour. The win puts a debut in the centre of the U.K.'s awards push.
The Festival de Cannes lists 'Rehearsals for a Revolution' as Ahangarani's first film as a director. She wrote, researched and edited the project in the U.K. over more than two and a half years with a team of British collaborators. That long production base in Britain underpins the film's qualification as the U.K. entry. The work was organised around research and editing rather than a short shoot.
It had its world premiere in the Special Screenings section at Cannes, a sidebar for notable work shown outside the main competition, before travelling to Telluride and the Toronto International Film Festival, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Toronto presented the film as its Canadian Premiere, as listed by Toronto International Film Festival. That run took the debut from France to North American audiences within months. Each stop widened the circle of festival viewers before any cinema release.
Sony Pictures Classics will steer the film's release in the United States. It will hold Oscar-qualifying runs, short cinema engagements that meet the Academy's eligibility rules, in New York and Los Angeles in December before a wider opening on 8 Jan 2027, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The December dates put it in cinemas before voting. The January date starts its public run.
What makes this stand out is the shape of the journey. A first film developed over years in one country. Festival recognition in May. A national selection in October. For fans, this means a clear calendar to follow, with limited engagements in December and a full opening in the new year.
