Post-Cannes, here are 5 international films to watch out for at the 2026 Oscars
The 2025 Cannes Film Festival winners were unveiled on Saturday, with all of the major prizes going to international films, putting many potential 2026 Oscar contenders on the map and setting the stage for what will be an exciting awards derby.
Recently, as a result of the Academy's expansion of voting members, there have been more international features in the top categories at the Oscars. The past two years have seen double the tally in Best Picture. With Cannes being the biggest kingmaker for films on the road to the Oscars, as seen with Best Picture winners Parasite and Anora and Best Picture nominee Anatomy of a Fall, below are the biggest international competitors to keep an eye on.
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Categories to watch: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best International Feature Film
Jafar Panahi becomes the fourth director to win the Palme d'Or, the Golden Bear at Berlin International Film Festival, and the Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival, after Henri-Georges Clouzot, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Robert Altman. The Iranian thriller, picked up by Neon, follows five former prisoners questioning what to do with the man who tortured them as well as his identity. This complex morality tale was made illegally without permission from the Iranian authorities, making it unlikely that the country will submit the film for Best International Feature, leaving either France or Luxembourg to carry the weight as part of their co-production. Despite the specific gear towards the Iranian regime, this movie has proven that it can resonate with audiences with its top prize victory at Cannes. The Palme d'Or champ has received a Best Picture Oscar nomination four of the last five years. Main categories that will help it secure one of the 10 slots would be Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for Panahi, whose journey of imprisonment and bans as a result of his political and artistic revolutions, can garner the passionate support of the highbrow directors' branch, as well as the film's layered monologues. Put all those nominations together, and It Was Just An Accident could follow the trajectory of Drive My Car and Palme d'Or winner Triangle of Sadness.
PascalCategories to watch: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress x2, Best Original Screenplay, Best International Feature
It is safe to say the more certain bet for Neon would be Sentimental Value — which was the favorite going into the festival — if for no other reason than purely because the Academy is more familiar with director Joachim Trier's work, having nominated him in Best Original Screenplay for The Worst Person In The World (with co-writer Eskil Vogt) to go with the movie's bid in Best International Feature for Norway. This year, the writers reunite with their leading actress and Cannes winner Renate Reinsve in this family dramedy about estranged daughters and their director father, who abandoned them, coming to terms with their past with an autobiographical film. Sentimental Value has more broad appeal, starting with its cast that includes Stellan Skarsgård, Elle Fanning, and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, all acting contenders, and with a mixture of well-known creatives and continuing raves from critics, this will be a surefire hit in multiple leading categories.
Categories to watch: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best International Feature
Another Neon grab, The Secret Agent ended up following the same route as Emilia Pérez last year at Cannes, securing multiple major awards at the festival with Best Director for Kleber Mendonça Filho and Best Actor for Wagner Moura, making them both Oscar challengers in their respective categories. The political thriller about a teacher on the run, hoping to reunite with his son in the midst of the Brazilian military dictatorship, mirrors last year's Best International Feature Oscar winner I'm Still Here, whose Best Picture nomination was one of the biggest shockers (Walter Salles' biopic similarly also was cited for its lead star Fernanda Torres). While the aforementioned two Cannes films may be prioritized by the studio, the last two years of the festival produced three Best Picture nominees, and one should never underestimate the passion and impact of the large Brazilian audience when it comes to the top category.
Categories to watch: Best International Feature
These two movies tied for the third place Jury Prize and both have the potential to fill the rest of the five International Feature slots. The Laxe drama, acquired by Neon and a co-production of France and Spain, centers on a father in the deserts of Morocco searching for his missing daughter, while the German film is an abstract exploration of a century of four generations of young girls connected by one particular farmhouse, directed by Schilinski and soon-to-be distributed by Mubi.
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David E. Kelley on the secret of his prolific career: ‘Don't ever assume you're smarter than the audience'
L.A. Law. Picket Fences. Chicago Hope. Ally McBeal. The Practice. Boston Legal. Big Little Lies. Nine Perfect Strangers. Presumed Innocent. And that's far from the complete list. So it's fitting that David E. Kelley was chosen as the inaugural recipient of the ATX TV Festival's Showrunner Award. Over the course of his career, he's earned 31 Emmy nominations and 12 wins (including a Hall of Fame trophy) and was the first producer ever to take home Emmys for both comedy series and drama series in the same year. Not to mention all of the actors he's written for who have won trophies in their own right. 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10 Must-See Movies At Sydney Film Festival 2025
One of life's greatest joys is going to the movies by yourself. Taking your seat by yourself, perhaps giving an air of mystery or intrigue, as you get ready to be the cinephile you truly are. Letterboxd at the ready, snacks brought from home in a Ziploc bag, emotional support water bottle giving you all the comfort you a truly liberating experience and I encourage you ALL to do it. Plus, even if everyone in the cinema is a complete stranger to everyone else, you're all going to laugh, or cry, or scream — or all three — at the same movie you're about to watch. And there's no better place to condense all these good feels and good vibes into a short space of time than at a film festival. This year, the Sydney Film Festival has come in swinging with some huge titles I've been dying to see. It Was Just An Accident First on the list is the winner of this year's Palme d'Or at Cannes i.e. the big dog movie award of all big dog movie awards. Directed by Iranian director Jafar Panahi, It Was Just An Accident is a thriller that promises to be the ultimate revenge the key characters aren't sure that they're taking revenge on the right person. It's meant to be equal parts exhilarating, funny, and morally grey — sounds like a must-watch to me. On Swift Horses Jacob Elordi hooking up with Diego Luna. Will Poulter hooking up with Daisy Edgar-Jones. It's a romantic drama (obviously) set against the aftermath of the Korean War, so you know it's going to balance that should they/shouldn't they romantic questions with the moral dilemma of wartime considering Elordi's fresh off the back of another wartime drama with The Narrow Road to the Deep North, you can be sure he's well and truly in his bag with this one. Together It's probably the most anticipated Aussie movie of the year, and it's set to kick off the entire festival with a bang. Starring IRL lovers Dave Franco and Alison Brie, this movie, helmed by Michael Shanks in his directorial debut (!), isn't going to be one for the faint-hearted. Take my warning now — If you watched The Substance last year because everyone was talking about it, only to leave horrified, maybe skip this everyone else, this body horror is opening the festival for a reason. It's going to be a big one, and you're gonna see Dave and Alison like you've never seen them before. My Father's Shadow This movie is the first Nigerian film to ever make the Cannes official selection, and now Aussies are getting a chance to watch the drama that's slowly winning audiences over of the best parts of the Sydney Film Festival is that it gives you a chance to see movies you'd probably never be able to otherwise, and My Father's Shadow is the perfect example of that. Following a father and his two young kids as they head into Nigeral's capital Lagos, the kids become exposed to political views that they've never seen in their rural home — and, apparently, all through stunning cinematography. The Mastermind If you're anything like me, you probably can't get enough of Josh O'Connor after watching Challengers last year. Now, our boy is booked and busy, and has a slew of movies currently in production, but the one that has me most excited is The a heist movie set in the '70s (so completely different to Challengers) and stars Alana Haim (yes, of that HAIM) in her second ever movie role after absolutely killing it in 2021's Licorice Pizza. Dangerous Animals A nail-biting, truly Australian horror movie that stars Jai Courtenay as a shark-obsessed serial killer hunting down Zephyr, played by Yellowstone's Hassie Harrison, a Gold Coast surfer to determined to survive the killer's sadistic I say more??? The Secret Agent Sometimes you just really need to sink your teeth into a heavy political thriller that really gets your wheels year, that movie is The Secret Agent, out of Brazil. Set amid the draconian political era of Brazil as last year's Oscar-winning I'm Still Here, this movie follows a guy on the run from the regime, taking on an assumed identity while also looking to reunite with his son. But a wanted man is still a wanted man, so he's going to need to figure something out before he's snatched right back I, for one, can't wait to watch it unfold. Twinless Now, Sydney Film Festival's official website says the less you know about Twinless going into it, the better. I'm all for experiencing movies like that (I knew nothing about Everything Everywhere All At Once before attending a preview screening that would ultimately change my life).That being said, here's what we do know. This movie is about a queer bromance, stars Dylan O'Brien, and it's meant to have you peeing yourself with laughter. Sign me TF up. Eddington Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, Joaquin Phoenix and Austin Butler (!) star in this movie about a fictional town riddled by COVID-19 (!!) in May 2020 directed by the evil genius behind Hereditary and Midsommar, Ari Aster (!!!).While I'm personally not ready for films and TV to depict the pandemic, I know Ari Aster's take is going to be so creative and twisted that I'll have no choice but to sit and watch. And finally, Fwends Girl fed up with her Sydney law firm job heads to Melbourne to reconnect with her mate, who is a bit of a space cadet (head's always in the clouds). Seems simple, right?This promises to be a movie that is strictly, above all else, about female friendship. We're gonna watch these two best mates recount office horror stories, break-up tales and whatever else fills their brains as they trawl through Melbourne, and I have a feeling its going to reach so far into our souls and psyche that we won't be able to stop thinking about it long after the credits have rolled. You can check the full program for the 2025 Sydney Film Festival, and snap up remaining tickets, here.
