Eighty-seven countries have submitted films for consideration for the upcoming 91st edition of the Oscars, and according to our count, 20 titles in the running, or 23 percent, are women-directed or co-directed. Nominations won’t be announced until January 22, 2019.
Among the features in the race are Rungano Nyoni’s “I Am Not a Witch,” a satire about a girl accused of witchcraft, Nadine Labaki’s “Capernaum,” a portrait of a boy who sues his parents for bringing him into a world full of suffering, and “Birds of Passage,” a drama following an indigenous family involved in drug trafficking in Colombia co-directed by Cristina Gallego.
Women helmed and co-helmed titles accounted for 27 percent of submissions in the foreign language category last year. Ildikó Enyedi’s slaughterhouse romance “On Body and Soul” was the only one to receive a nod. The year prior to that, women directed or co-directed 15 percent of the films in the race, and Maren Ade’s father-daughter dramedy “Toni Erdmann” scored a nomination.
The Oscars will take place February 24.
Check out the women-directed films in the running for the foreign language category below. List adapted from the Academy’s press release.
Algeria, “Until the End of Time,” Yasmine Chouikh, director;
Austria, “The Waldheim Waltz,” Ruth Beckermann, director;
Belarus, “Crystal Swan,” Darya Zhuk, director;
Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Never Leave Me,” Aida Begić, director;
Canada, “Family Ties,” Sophie Dupuis, director;
Colombia, “Birds of Passage,” Cristina Gallego, Ciro Guerra, directors;
Costa Rica, “Medea,” Alexandra Latishev, director;
Estonia, “Take It or Leave It,” Liina Trishkina-Vanhatalo, director;
Greece, “Polyxeni,” Dora Masklavanou, director;
India, “Village Rockstars,” Rima Das, director;
Indonesia, “Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts,” Mouly Surya, director;
Kosovo, “The Marriage,” Blerta Zeqiri, director;
Lebanon, “Capernaum,” Nadine Labaki, director;
New Zealand, “Yellow Is Forbidden,” Pietra Brettkelly, director;
Niger, “The Wedding Ring,” Rahmatou Keïta, director;
Norway, “What Will People Say,” Iram Haq, director;
Thailand, “Malila The Farewell Flower,” Anucha Boonyawatana, director;
Tunisia, “Beauty and the Dogs,” Kaouther Ben Hania, director;
United Kingdom, “I Am Not a Witch,” Rungano Nyoni, director;
Vietnam, “The Tailor,” Buu Loc Tran, Kay Nguyen, directors;