So, I'll keep this post relatively short.
I was able to see 22/39 European submissions (56%), 12/22 from Asia (55%) and 8/16 from the Americas (50%) so I feel pretty good about my predictions.
But this year it was almost impossible to get screeners for the films from Africa and the Middle East and I only saw "Disco Afrika", the cute debut entry from MADAGASCAR. So, by default, I guess that's my "favorite" from the region.
The most interesting thing about this group is that four of the fifteen films are about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict including frontrunner "The Voice of Hind Rajab" (representing Tunisia), "All That's Left of You" (a Palestinian film representing Jordan), "Palestine 36" (representing Palestine itself) and "The Sea", an Arabic-language film representing Israel. The fact that Israel itself has selected a film on this theme shows how important it is for artists and filmmakers in the region. Will the Palestine-themed films canceled themselves out? Will they somehow dominate the shortlist? Golden Globe nominee "Hind Rajab" by two-time Oscar nominee Kaouther Ben Hania is expected to make the shortlist later today with historical dramas "Palestine 36" and "All That's Left of You" on the bubble. "The Sea", which is also supposed to be excellent, has less people behind it and hasn't been as widely seen so it's probably out. A poll on Awardsdaily had Tunisia in 4th place, Palestine in 15th and Jordan tied (with Colombia) for 16th.
Another interesting issue from the region? The lack of films from Africa. I was expecting this to be a record year for African films as 15 countries publicly announced the formation of national committees and a 16th country (Burkina Faso) had a very strong contender. I think the record is 11 and it seemed certain that that would be broken. But, one by one, African countries declined to enter. Rwanda and Zimbabwe said that they would debut this year but sent nothing. Namibia and Sudan said the only films submitted didn't meet AMPAS rules. African powerhouses Kenya and Nigeria said they received submisisons but voted to send nothing (why??). Algeria made a rather cruel statement- "it is apparent that the two submitted films did not have the potential to reasonably be 'shortlisted' by AMPAS and despite their good intentions, such participation would risk harming the image of Algerian cinema on the world stage." And Cameroon, which had sent five films in a row, also failed to enter. After Senegal was disqualified (why?), only six African films remain.
MY REVIEWS:
1. TUNISIA- "The Voice of Hind Rajab" (Letterboxd: 4.3)
NOT SO DARK HORSES
2. IRAQ- "The President's Cake" (3.9)
3. PALESTINE- "Palestine 36" (3.8)
4. JORDAN- "All That's Left of You" (4.1)
VERY DARK HORSES
5. EGYPT- "Happy Birthday" (3.7)
6. LEBANON- "Sad and Beautiful World" (3.8)
7. MOROCCO- "Calle Malaga" (3.7)
8. ISRAEL- "The Sea" (3.6)
MIDDLE OF THE PACK
9. SOUTH AFRICA- "The Heart is a Muscle" (3.4)
10. TURKEY- "One of Those Days When Hemme Dies" (3.4)
11. IRAN- "Cause of Death Unknown (3.3)
12. SENEGAL- "Demba" (3.2)
NO CHANCE
13. MADAGASCAR- "Disco Afrika" (3.4)
14. SAUDI ARABIA- "Hijra" (3.4)
15. UGANDA- "Kimote" (3.2)
FUN FACTS:
Who's Out: Many of the countries in this region only submit intermittently. The most important absences were Algeria, Kenya and Nigeria, which all formed committees but decided not to enter. 19 other countries have sent films in the past, mostly just once or twice. I did expect Burkina Faso ("Katanga: The Dance of the Scorpions") and Chad ("Diya") to return.
Genres: All fifteen films are dramas, although many have thriller elements (Iran, South Africa, Tunisia, Turkey).
I’ve Already Seen: Just Madagascar.
Film I’m Most Excited To See Next: I like the look of "Cause of Death: Unknown" from Iran but can't find English subtitles for it.
Number I Predicted Correctly: 7/15 - Iraq, Madagascar, Morocco, Palestine, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda - plus I predicted Tunisia would send "Hind Rajab" if it got a qualifying release....and I picked "Cause of Death Unknown" for Iran TWO YEARS AGO before it got banned, shelved and then unbanned.
Big Four Festivals: (10/15 premiered at one of these four....Only Uganda got no Class-A Festival play)
· Berlin- Madagascar, Senegal, South Africa
· Cannes- Iraq
· Sundance- Jordan
· Venice- Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey
Women Directors- 6/15 (40%) of the films are directed by women- Shahad Ameen (Saudi Arabia), Kaouther Ben Hania (Tunisia), Cherien Dabis (Jordan), Sarah Goher (Egypt), Annemarie Jacir (Palestine) and Maryam Touzani (Morocco)
Languages – As usual Arabic-language films dominate. 8/15 (including Israel) are mostly in Arabic. The others are in Afrikaans, Fula, Luganda, Malagasy, Persian, Spanish (Morocco) and Turkish.
How Many Have a Chance at the Shortlist?- It's a strong group.....I'd say eight.
Most Likely to Get Nominated/Shortlisted for the First Time- Definitely Iraq...but Egypt is hoping too.
Buzziest Film: "Hind Rajab"
Letterboxd Ratings (as of December 10, 2025): Best: Tunisia (4.3), Worst: Senegal and Uganda (3.2)
Dumbest Decision: Nobody was "dumb" (countries in every region are getting smarter!) although possibly Saudi Arabia could have chosen better.
Controversies and Changes: Israel's right-wing government was furious that Israel's Ophir Awards gave the Best Picture prize to a film not in alignment with government priorities. Perhaps the lack of financial support is one of the reasons this very well-reviewed film hasn't had much buzz? I'm not sure.
Egypt's "Happy Birthday" wasn't on the original Egyptian shortlist that was announced on social media the day before Egypt's official announcement....but that looks like it was a late release date issue rather than something more sinister and the film has excellent reviews.
Senegal's "Demba" was submitted following a fairly competitive process but didn't appear on the final list so surely there's some controversial story there.
Nobody seemed to mind the fact that the Jordanian film is actually Palestinian.....Or that Sarah Goher and Cherien Dabis are dual citizens born and raised in the USA.
Oscar History:
Kaouther Ben Hania is here for the fourth time and she already has two Oscar nominations under her belt for "The Man Who Sold His Skin" (International Feature) and "Four Daughters" (Documentary Feature). My favorite Ben Hania film- "Beauty and the Dogs" will probably end up being the only one without any Oscar love.
Annemarie Jacir is representing Palestine for the fourth time following the Oscar-worthy "Wajib", as well as "Salt of this Sea" and "When I Saw You".
Maryam Touzani is representing Morocco for the third time, after being shortlisted for "Blue Caftan" but not for "Adam". She also worked with her husband Nabil Ayouch to co-write three of his submissions.
Here for the second time: Shahad Ameen (Saudi Arabia; "Scales") and Mamadou Dia ("Nafi's Father") though he was disqualified this year.
Most Notable Omissions:
Last Year’s Race: I saw 12/16 last year and the two best by far were the ones from Israel and Palestine- "Come Closer" and "From Ground Zero" (both A-). I think I'll have to give the regional award to Palestine because of the scale and the difficulty of the filmmaking.
I also saw (in order) "Arze" (B+), "Nawi" (B+), "My Sweet Land" (B+), "Baghdad Messi" (B), "Everybody Loves Touda" (C+), "Algiers" (C), "Mai Martaba" (C), the ridiculously overrated "Dahomey" (D), and "Flight 404" (D-)
I failed to see the entries from Cameroon, Iran, South Africa (now on Amazon) and Tunisia.
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