It’s that time of year again!
The unofficial list is out and there are 86 finalists plus
six films that seemingly got disqualified for a total of 92. I’m quite proud of myself
because I predicted 42 out of these 92 countries correctly….and I am giving myself "extra
credit" for three others because I predicting them in different years. That’s almost 50%...my best record yet.
I’ve seen 34 of this year’s films and the overall quality is
much better than last year. Since I’ve seen so many of the films, I’m going to
try and do more “review”-style reporting, which is also a good way to thank the
films that I’ve been sent as screeners.
Today we'll look at the films from Eastern Europe because I was fortunate to see the majority (12 of 20) of them this year. Here is a rundown of the 20 films submitted
from the Eastern European region.
Let’s start with my two favorites….They’ll almost certainly
be on my own personal “shortlist”:
BEST OF THE REGION:
MONTENEGRO- “Tower of Strength” Despite it’s awkward English-language title (the Montenegrin title “Obraz” roughly translates as “honor”), “Tower of Strength” was definitely my favorite of the twelve films I’ve seen from the Eastern Euro region and - so far - of the 34 entries I've seen from around the world. The first-ever Albanian-language film to represent Montenegro, “Tower of Strength” is about a family facing a heartbreaking moral dilemma...and nobody does these kinds of films better than Balkan filmmakers (my personal favorite, “Trap”, got Serbia to the shortlist way back in 2007). “Tower of Strength” is set during WWII in a rural area along the Yugoslavia (Montenegro)-Albania border, populated mostly by ethnic Albanian communities. A Nazi-allied Albanian militia is ethnically cleansing the area of Slavic Christians but one little boy manages to escape after his family is killed, and begs for asylum at the home of a highly respected Albanian family who has maintained neutrality during the war. The Fascist militia gives the family patriarch a choice – hand over the Christian boy, or his entire family will be brutally killed. Knowing a little bit of Albanian culture and Balkan history helps, though it’s not necessary to understand the high stakes in the film. Good and evil is universal. In some ways, "Obraz" is actually a very old-fashioned film and I think it might have been nominated in the 80s and 90s. While I generally don’t like “old-fashioned” films….“Tower of Strength” skillfully uses its old-school filmmaking to beautifully capture the lives of this Old World family (unlike, say, a film like Agnieszka Holland’s “Charlatan” which just comes across as dusty) with beautiful shots showing how people lived inside dark, traditional family homes. "Obraz" also does what the best International Feature submissions should do – it exposes us to a new culture and to that country's traditions, in this case the Albanian Kanun, a series of codified laws that define justice and honor. And while I certainly won't reveal how the film ends, I will say this....In a year where some wonderful films do not know how to finish their screenplays (Canada, Slovakia etc.), "Tower of Strength" provides a satisfying conclusion to its story.
Do I think Montenegro has a chance at making the
shortlist? No, sadly, I do not. ☹ With the new rules, only those films that can get
voters to watch outside their assigned group will ever make the
shortlist. But hopefully it will be seen by those who can appreciate it. And if any Oscar voters are reading, I hope you’ll give tiny
Montenegro a chance! This is one of the films I can't stop thinking about and it deserves some Oscar love!
GEORGIA- “Panopticon”- Another film that could use a
better title….in English, this sounds like some of sci-fi drama when it’s
actually a coming-of-age drama about toxic masculinity. Sandro is an 18-year
old Georgian struggling with issues of faith, nationalism and sexuality in
modern-day Georgia’s politically charged environment. He’s occasionally
sympathetic….occasionally creepy…. and occasionally alarming….and having been
to Georgia many times, probably a very realistic character. Some reviewers call
Sandro an ‘incel’, but that’s inaccurate because he has a girlfriend who wants
him to take her virginity…but his complicated feelings about religion seem to
prevent him from taking action. This is a surprisingly sweet and well-acted
story despite its tough subject matter, and one of the best character studies
in this year’s competition. I would love to see this low-budget drama advance
but I think it’s way too small to get voters’ attention. I would love to be
wrong.
BULGARIA- “Tarika” Bulgaria had a strong film year
and many were surprised when “Tarika” was picked over some higher-profile
films. “Tarika” is a “magical realism” story about a man whose superstitious
fellow villagers believe his quiet, young daughter carries bad luck that is
cursing the entire community. Year before, the girl’s mother either died,
disappeared or “flew away”, depending on which rumors you choose to believe.
“Tarika” is a slow film that works best when delving into its fantasy elements,
and I wish it had leaned more into its folktale mythology. But it’s a sweet
film that makes you think and I can see why it is was picked.
CROATIA- “Fiume o Morte!” The oddest and most
original of this year’s twelve documentaries, “Fiume o morte!” consists of a
series of historical re-enactments using real residents of the town of Rijeka
(in Croatia)/Fiume (in Italian), of an absurd but true incident from 1919 when an
Italian poet/aristocrat briefly became the dictator of an independent
city-state centered on the town. The film is very funny, very informative, and
slightly too long…..and at the end has quite a lot to say about ethnic
identity, big dreams, nationalism and the futility of war. And what I’ve read
online, it definitely has its fans.
CZECH REPUBLIC- “I'm Not Everything I Want to Be” The
Czech Republic deserves some kind of editing Oscar for this documentary, which
is composed entirely of still photographs to tell its story. 73-year old
photographer Libuše Jarcovjáková narrates her own story, which begins in
Communist Czechoslovakia, and details the Prague Spring, the country’s
underground LGBT movement, a fascinating look at 1960s Japan, emigration to
Germany and the fall of Communism. Having said that, Jarcovjáková is a grouchy
and sullen protagonist and while the historical context is interesting, it’s
hard to get into her life story. But, the photo collages are so well integrated
that it almost seems like you’re watching a regular documentary
ESTONIA- “Rolling Papers” Richard Linklater goes to
Estonia…”Rolling Papers” is a slacker comedy-drama about a young man trying to
find his purpose. Director Meel Paliale made the film at age 26, making him the
youngest director in the competition this year. Many of us can remember a time
when we were like the 20-something main character…unsure of what we wanted to
accomplish in life and with an exaggerated sense of self-importance….The film
actually starts off looking like a buddy comedy, as our protagonist’s new best
friend convinces him to leave his shift at the convenience store and go skinny
dipping in the lake nearby. The friend is a far more interesting character and
maybe I would have liked it more if it focused on the more free-wheeling Silo
rather than the moody Sebastian. This is a cute film and I recommend seeing
it…but sometimes the 20-something angst eventually grates just like a real
20-something does.
LATVIA- “Dog of God” Last year, Latvia got their
first two Oscar nominations, winning one (Best Animated Film) for the gentle,
wordless “Flow”. This year they picked another animated film but the two couldn’t
be more different. “Dog of God” is a phantasmagorical, scatological acid trip
of a movie, set in a Latvian village and animated using rotoscope. A wholly
originally mix of Brother’s Grimm, Eastern European humor and Japanese horror-anime,
mixing class conflict with werewolves and witchcraft…and a rather odd ending, this
is one of the most fun films on the list. International Oscar voters will probably
hate it, especially if they’re looking for another family-friendly “Flow”….but I
really enjoyed this one.
LITHUANIA- “Southern Chronicles” This is apparently the
highest-grossing film in Lithuanian history and it’s numbers (e.g. 4.1 on
Letterboxd) show that it must really resonate with local audiences. I didn’t
like it at all. This is a film set in the early days of Lithuanian independence
about a guy trying to figure out what to do with his life in the early 1990s. (it
feels a lot like the Estonian film, though Lithuania’s entry is far more blue-collar).
I thought the film was pretty ugly to look at; that may have been on purpose to
capture the era of financial difficulties. Maybe something got lost in the
translation? I found the characters unlikable and the film was neither funny
nor dramatically interesting.
SERBIA- “Sun Never Again” This slim 72-minute film
starts off with a charming look at a village celebration. Told from a young
boy’s point of view, it focuses on a small Serbian town faced with industrial
mining. The day after watching it, I could barely remember seeing it.
SLOVAKIA- “Father” Hmmm….The less you know about this
film, the better it will be. All I will say is that it’s about how a happy
middle-class family deals with an unexpected tragedy. While it occasionally
veers into soap opera territory, it’s still a very powerful film with a great
performance by Milan Ondrik (as the titular “father”). There are some odd
moments….like when Ondrik runs completely naked in an oddly gratuitous scene….and
some great moments…..at the birthday party at the end of the film….and
unfortunately an ending that makes me wish the film ended just two minutes
before the credits.
I haven’t been able to see Albania, Azerbaijan, Hungary,
Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Ukraine but would love to see all of them.
Number of Countries That Have Participated in the
Past: All 24
Who’s Missing?: RUSSIA
continues to boycott the Oscars due to their own invasion of a peaceful
neighboring country…..But Russia is represented by a documentary from
Denmark which we’ll take a look at in a later entry.
KOSOVO announced a call for submissions after
controversially failing to do so last year; they received one entry (they didn’t
name the film) but decided not to send it, leaving them absent for the third
year in a row. Local filmmakers, including Isa Qojsa who directed their first-ever
submission, criticized the selection committee and noted the important of
Kosovo being represented, even if they had no chance at a nomination. I agree.
Also absent: the tiny film industries of BELARUS and MOLDOVA,
which last nominated films in 2020 and 2023 respectively.
FRONTRUNNERS:
1. 
UKRAINE- “2000 Meters to Andriivka”
(Letterboxd: 4.2)
2. 
SLOVENIA- “Little Trouble
Girls” (3.6)
So, even though Eastern Europe sent a big group of films, I
don’t think they’ll get more than one or two spots on the shortlist. The most likely is documentary “2000 Meters to
Andriivka”, which won Best International Documentary at Sundance (just as “20
Days in Mariupol” did in 2023). Sympathy is still sky high for the brave
soldiers in Ukraine, and “Andriivka” is in some ways a more daring effort,
trading a city under siege for a platoon travelling across enemy territory. And
although I probably won’t be able to see it until its December 1st
streaming date, it’s also supposed to be very, very good.
Slovenia’s sexually charged choir drama “Little Trouble
Girls” could be Slovenia’s best-ever chance at the shortlist. While I don’t
actually think it will make it, it recently made the shortlist for the British
Independent Film Awards, got a U.S. distributor via Kino Lorber and an online release
in the UK. Sadly, these distribution tallies count more than the quality of the
film. “Little Trouble Girls”, about two high-school girls and their choirmaster,
just got a 5-star review from The Guardian and is gunning for one of the
last spots on the shortlist. I couldn’t get a screener so I don’t know how “Oscary”
it is.
DARK HORSES:
These two countries are praying for a miracle.
3. 
MACEDONIA- “Tale of Silyan” (3.6)
4. 
POLAND- “Franz” (3.2)
Does anyone think Agnieszka’s biopic of Franz Kafka deserves
to make the Oscar shortlist. Hell, no. Reviews have been tepid and the film
mostly called “a mess”. But Holland is a talented director that Oscar likes,
she knows how to campaign and “Charlatan” wasn’t that good either. So, “Franz”
is hoping for that “Bardo” slot (I liked “Bardo”! But it wasn’t a Top 15 film,
and it was also a mess). As for “Tale of
Silyan”, a Macedonian documentary about a man, a stork and local folklore, I’m
ranking it high for three reasons- (1)- it won a small award at Venice, (2)- it
got a National Geographic distributor, and (3)- the same director got a
surprise Oscar nomination for “Honeyland”. But while “Silyan” is supposed to be
very good, it’s also supposed to be a bit slow so I expect it won’t quite make
the cut
UNLIKELY BUT WILL PLACE WELL:
5. 
CROATIA- “Fiume o Morte!” (4.0)
6. 
SLOVAKIA- “Father” (3.5)
7. 
MONTENEGRO- “The Tower of Strength”
8. 
CZECH REPUBLIC- “I’m Not Everything I Want To Be” (4.1)
I already discussed these four films above. My favorite, MONTENEGRO, is too small with zero buzz….and not everyone seems to love the film as much as I do. CZECH REPUBLIC is a critical darling but it’s a tough watch and I’m not sure it will do well with mainstream voters (I simply could not get into it….). CROATIA, another historical documentary, is probably too odd…but it will probably place well. The same goes for the family drama from SLOVAKIA...I expect it will do well, but not make the Top 15.
MIDDLE OF THE PACK:
9.
GEORGIA- “Panopticon” (3.4)
10. 
ROMANIA- “Traffic” (3.4)
11. 
AZERBAIJAN- “Taghiyev: Oil” (3.6)
12. 
HUNGARY- “Orphan” (3.1)
Not much to say about this group....”Panopticon” from GEORGIA is one of my favorites but it’s a small low-budget drama that nobody is talking about. HUNGARY's "Orphan" comes from the Oscar-winning director of "Son of Saul" and it's a baity period drama about a boy looking for his absent father. But reviews have been poor and it's got some of the worst numbers from critics sites. I live in AZERBAIJAN and historical drama "Taghiyev: Oil", an expensive biopic and first film in a trilogy about one of the country's most beloved philanthropists, has gotten excellent reviews. It's also produced by the daughter of the President. But it's probably a story that's of greater interest to those who know Taghiyev's story. And finally, we have migration drama "Traffic", produced by Cristian Mungiu, about a group of exploited Romanian workers living in the Netherlands. It should finish in the middle of the pack.
BETTER LUCK NEXT YEAR:
13. 
LATVIA- “Dog of God” (3.2)
14. 
ALBANIA- “Luna Park”
15. 
BULGARIA- “Tarika” (3.2)
16. 
ESTONIA- “Rolling Papers” (3.7)
From LATVIA, we have nightmarish animated film “Dog
of God” which is a lot of fun….but will likely freak out most voters while
neighboring ESTONIA’s philosophical slacker movie just doesn’t seem like
the kind of movie honored her. BULGARIA’s “Tarika” is interesting but
probably too small and too slow to get many votes.
I haven’t seen “Luna Park” from ALBANIA, a well-reviewed
coming-of-age drama about a mother and son living through economic turmoil in
1997 when a series of pyramid schemes collapsed. It looks very good…but it’s
one of the most obscure entries on the list and has the fewest votes of any
country in this group on Letterboxd (2nd to last on IMDB). Even if
it gets high scores, it likely won’t be able to make an impact.
BOTTOM TIER
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA- “Blum: Masters of Their Own Destiny”
18. 
LITHUANIA- “Southern Chronicles” (4.1)
19. 
ARMENIA- “My Armenian Phantoms”
20. 
SERBIA- “Sun Never Again”
I’ve already discussed these four also-rans. I enjoyed
seeing all four (well….maybe not Lithuania) but they aren’t good enough to
compete here. ARMENIA is a lovely documentary but requires a strong
interest in the subject matter (Armenian/Soviet cinema) and while BOSNIA is
well-done, it’s really just a well-researched bunch of talking heads talking about
an admittedly great man. LITHUANIA is clearly intended for a local audience
and didn’t seem like a “good” film to me, while SERBIA is slight and forgettable.
FUN FACTS:
Genres: We
have five documentaries (that’s 25%!), two comedy-dramas (Estonia and
Lithuania) plus one bizarre horror-animation film (Latvia). The other 12 are
straight dramas.
I’ve Already Seen: I’ve seen twelve of
the twenty films (See above)
Film I’m Most Excited To See: Definitely Ukraine’s
“3000 Meters to Andriivka”, mostly because it’s the favorite.
Number I Predicted Correctly: 7/20- Albania,
Croatia, Hungary, Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine.
Big Four Festivals:
· Berlin- Armenia
(Forum), Czech Republic (Panorama), Slovenia (14+)
· Cannes- N/A
· Sundance- Ukraine
(World Documentaries)
· Venice- Hungary,
Macedonia, Slovakia
“Orphan” was the only film to play in the Main Competition
of a major festival.
Women Directors- 8/20….That’s 40%! A possible
record- Urska Djukic (Slovenia), Agnieszka Holland (Poland), Tamara Kotevska
(Macedonia), Teodora Ana Mihai (Romania), Tereza Nvotova (Slovakia), Tamara
Stepanyan (Armenia), Klara Tasovska (Czech Rep.) and Jasmila Zbanic (Bosnia)
Languages – We have two films in Albanian
(Albania, Montenegro) and two in Serbo-Croatian (Bosnia and Serbia), plus one
each in Armenian, Azerbaijani, Bulgarian, Czech, Estonian, Georgian, German
(Poland), Hungarian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene
and Ukrainian….. and a dialect of Italian (Croatia). The Bosnian film is
fairly multi-lingual (Bosnian + German and English).
How Many Have a Chance at the Shortlist?- Hmmm….Not many… Maybe four?
Most Likely to Get Nominated/Shortlisted for the First
Time- Nominated? Ukraine. Shortlisted? Slovakia….But neither one is
especially likely to happen.
Buzziest Films: Probably Franz Kafka biopic
“Franz”….but that’s mostly because of Holland’s name.
Letterboxd Ratings (as of November 1, 2025): Best: Ukraine (4.3)….Worst:
Montenegro (approximately 2.8), which seems absolutely impossible (and
unfair!) since it’s probably the best film I’ve seen on the list so far.
Dumbest Decision: Hmmm….I think some of
these countries made mistakes though I’m not sure anyone made a “dumb”
decision. Macedonia certainly had a tough pick between critical darling “DJ
Ahmed” and documentary “Tale of Silyan” and I think “DJ” would have had a
better chance of getting nominated….but Tamara Kotevska has gotten to the
shortlist before. And I loved "Pavilion" but it's hard to call BOSNIA "dumb" for picking a solid (though ordinary) documentary from a former Oscar nominee. So I'm voting for LITHUANIA for picking a commercial hit over Locarno winner "Toxic".
Controversies and Changes: The Czech Republic
had a controversy when the Czech Academy sent voters a three-film shortlist
with a “recommendation” to select “Broken Voices”, since they said it had the
best chance with American Oscar voters. One of the rival films – “Caravan” - said
it was ridiculous to “recommend” a film to voters, that it showed favoritism
and that the process should be restarted. In the end, Czech voters selected the
third film on the list – documentary “I’m Not Everything I Want To Be”-
possibly due to backlash.
In Serbia, the selection system is reportedly considered so corrupt
that just two obscure films were submitted. Ironically, that led to the first
arthouse film being selected in years. Here’s a good article in Serbia here: https://www.danas.rs/kultura/dimitri...dat-za-oskara/
Oscar History: Lots of big names here. Five
directors have already made it to the nomination stage.
László Nemes (Hungary) and Mstyslav Chernov (Ukraine)
already won Oscars, for Best International Feature (“Son of Saul”) and Best
Documentary Feature (“20 Days in Mariupol”) respectively. Agnieszka Holland
(Poland) has three nominees under her belt (Best Screenplay for “Europa
Europa”, and Best International Feature for “Angry Harvest” and “In Darkness”).
Jasmila Žbanić (“Quo Vadis, Aida?”) and Tamara Kotevska (“Honeyland”) have one
Oscar nomination apiece.
Agnieszka Holland is in the International Oscar race for the
fifth time – three times for Poland and once each for West Germany and the
Czech Republic. Jasmila Žbanić is representing Bosnia and László Nemes is
representing Hungary for the third time. Here for the second time: Mstyslav
Chernov (Ukraine; “20 Days in Mariupol”), Milko Lazarov (Bulgaria; “Aga”),
Tamara Kotevska (Macedonia; “Honeyland”), Florenc Papas (Albania, “Open Door”)
and Nikola Vukčević (Montenegro; “The Kids From Marx & Engels Street”).
Of the 20 eligible countries, four have won
the Oscar (Bosnia, Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland), five others
have been nominated (Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Macedonia and Romania),
and four shortlisted (Armenia, Bulgaria, Serbia and Ukraine).
The other seven are waiting for their first trip to the second round, the most
surprising of which is Slovakia.
Most Notable Omissions:
The most notable omission this year is Sundance Film
Festival Audience Award winner “DJ Ahmet”, a feel-good movie that many were
saying was a dark horse for an Oscar nomination. The other two major absences
are Locarno Golden Leopard winner “Toxic” (Lithuania) and Radu Jude’s Berlin
Best Screenplay winner “Kontinental 25” (Romania).
Also out: “Broken Voices” (Czech Republic), “Frka”
(Croatia), “Grey Bees” (Ukraine), ““Growing Down” (Hungary), “Pavilion” (Bosnia-Herzegovina)
and “Windless” (Bulgaria)
Most Famous Face: Hmmm….No huge international
stars in this group (especially because 25% of these films are documentaries)
but Ivan Trojan (Czech Republic), Milan Ondrík (Slovakia) and Nik Xhelilaj
(Albania) will likely be familiar to those who follow this category year after
year.
Last Year’s Race: I saw 16/18 films last year
and the Eastern European group was pretty great. Three films- “Flow” (A-), “Three Kilometers to the End of
the World” (A) and “Waterdrop” (A-) would have made my shortlist….and maybe
“Yasha and Leonid Brezhnev” (B+) would have too. Also good: “Drowning Dry”
(B+)….”The Antique”, “Family Therapy”, “My Late Summer”, “Semmelweis” and
“Waves” (B). Also seen “Hungarian Dressmaker” and “Under the Volcano”
(B-), “Supermarket” (C+), “Triumph” (C),
“8 Views of Lake Biwa” (D) and “La Palisiada” (F). I failed to see the films
from Croatia (“Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day”, which I really wanted to see)
and Serbia (“Russian Consul”, which I didn’t).
