Midday Meal wins Busan top prize and takes festival path toward Oscars
Iranian director Majid Majidi's Midday Meal has won best film at the Busan International Film Festival, a prize that opens a direct route to the Oscars' best international feature race, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The decision came on the closing days of the 2026 festival, held from 6 to 15 October in the South Korean port city. The seven-member jury was led by Chinese director Zhang Yimou. Its vote for Midday Meal was unanimous.
That unanimous vote matters beyond Busan. Under Film Academy rules, the winner of Busan's best film prize can be put forward for international feature consideration without first being chosen by its country's Oscar committee. International feature is the Academy Award category for films made outside the United States.
Busan now sits alongside Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Sundance and Toronto on the Academy's list of festivals whose selected awards carry that kind of Oscar access. The rule creates an unusual position for Iran this season. Iran has already chosen Babak Khajehpasha's Land of Angels as its official submission for the 99th Academy Awards. Midday Meal could now arrive through the festival route as well.
Midday Meal follows Davoud Soulan, played by Mohammad Rahimi, a contract teacher in a remote village in southeastern Iran. His pupils lose their free lunches after a local benefactor dies, and he sets out to restore them.
Majidi built the film with an entirely non-professional cast found through street casting in the region. The film runs 133 minutes, according to the Busan International Film Festival. It is Majidi's first film in six years.
It also arrived in Busan as a new film. Midday Meal had its world premiere in competition at this year's festival, the 31st edition, as reported by Tehran Times. Busan's top competition honour is called the Busan Award, with winners chosen across five categories.
What makes this stand out for audiences is the calendar. A world premiere that leaves with the top jury prize and an Oscar-qualifying status gives distributors, festivals and awards voters a clear name to track in the months ahead.
