Which film will have the honor of representing France at the 2023 Oscars? The commission responsible for choosing the lucky winner has delivered its verdict!
What work will succeed Titane by Julia Ducournau, who represented France last year in the race for the Oscar for best foreign film?
Five candidates were in the final list of the commission responsible for choosing the film that will have this honor.
It was finally Saint Omer, directed by Alice Diop, who was selected to represent France. The story follows Rama, a young novelist. The latter attends the trial of Laurence Coly at the Assize Court of Saint-Omer.
She is accused of having killed her fifteen-month-old daughter by abandoning her at the rising tide on a beach in northern France. But during the trial, the word of the accused, listening to the testimonies make Rama’s certainties waver and question our judgement.
The film was twice awarded at the Venice Film Festival: Silver Lion (Grand Jury Prize) and Lion of the Future (Best First Film).
We owe the choice of this film to a commission made up of filmmakers Michel Gondry and Jacques Audiard, producers Philippe Rousselet and Didar Domehri, exporters Grégoire Melin and Hengameh Panahi and Ariane Toscan du Plantier, director of communication and heritage at Gaumont.
The commission today auditioned the producers, international sellers and American distributors of each shortlisted work before making its decision.
It remains to be seen whether Saint Omer will really be one of the 5 feature films nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, which will be announced on January 24, 2023. Before that, it will, of course, have to be one of the 15 international films. present in the shortlist expected on December 21.
A NEW SELECTION PROCEDURE
Note that the committee meets in the presence of the president of the CNC and the president of Unifrance, both endowed with the status of observers without voting rights.
In addition, the CNC clarified that the selection process has evolved this year: feature films wishing to represent France at the Oscars had to submit their application before September 1. This year, 33 films applied.
For the record, only feature films released between January 1 and November 30, 2022, in a majority language other than English (but not necessarily French), whose artistic team is majority French, are eligible.
The 95th Academy Awards will be held on March 12, 2023 in Los Angeles. Last year, Drive My Car, directed by the Japanese Ryusuke Hamaguchi, won the statuette for Best International Film.