‘Roma’ Enters Oscar Foreign-Language Race, Becomes the Instant Favorite

Alfonso Cuaron’s black-and-white memory piece is Mexico’s official submission in the category, where it will go up against a field that also includes new work from past winners Laszlo Nemes and Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

| September 14, 2018 @ 12:47 PM Last Updated: September 14, 2018 @ 1:21 PM
roma alfonso cuaron

Netflix

The Oscar race for Best Foreign Language Film now has a clear frontrunner, because Mexico has submitted Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma” in the category.

Winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and one of the most acclaimed films of the fall festival circuit, “Roma” is a beautiful black-and-white film based on moments from Cuaron’s childhood, growing up in a suburb of Mexico City. The Netflix release is also a strong Best Picture contender, the only one of the 40-plus foreign-language entries to be in the running for both awards.

At this point, for it not to land a foreign-language nomination would be astonishing, though Netflix failed to make the cut last year in the category even though it had by far the highest-profile submission, Angelina Jolie’s “First They Killed My Father.”

Also Read: 'Roma' Film Review: Alfonso Cuarón's Intimate Epic Proves Less Is More

And even if the film is nominated, Cuaron shouldn’t get too complacent. The last time Mexico had the frontrunner in the category was 2007, when Guillermo del Toro’s “Pan’s Labyrinth” was the odds-on favorite but lost to the German entry, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s “The Lives of Others.”

Von Donnersmarck is in the race again this year with “Never Look Away,” and he’s not the only director who is returning after a previous win: Hungarian filmmaker Laszlo Nemes is back with “Sunset,” a period drama from the director whose first film, “Son of Saul,” won the Oscar for Hungary in 2018.

Other films that have been submitted to the Oscar foreign race in September include South Korea’s “Burning,” a drama from director Lee Chang-dong which was the most favorably reviewed film in Cannes this year; the Austrian documentary “The Waldheim Waltz,” which examines the Nazi affiliations of former Austrian president and United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim; Cambodia’s “Graves Without a Name” from director Rithy Panh, whose “The Missing Picture” was nominated in the category in 2014; Israel’s “The Cakemaker,” which became that country’s official entry by winning the Ophir Award; Brazil’s “The Great Mystical Circus,” a decades-spanning fantasia that screened at the Cannes Film Festival; Egypt’s “Yomeddine,” another Cannes entry, which tells the story of a young boy raised in a leper colony; and Russia’s “Sobibor,” a war drama starring Christopher Lambert.

Also Read: Oscar Foreign Language Race 2018: Complete List of Submissions (So Far)

Spain chose the comedy “Champions” from a three-film shortlist that also included “Everybody Knows,” a drama starring Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz from director Asghar Farhadi, who has twice won the foreign-language Oscar for Iran.

Approved organizations or committees from each country must submit their film to the Academy by Oct. 1. Volunteers from all branches of the Academy will then view all the qualifying films and vote for their favorites, with the top six choices moving to a shortlist along with three additional choices made by the Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee. Phase 2 committees will then determine the five nominees.

Last year, a record 92 countries submitted films to the Oscars.

Recently, longtime Oscar foreign-language chair Mark Johnson, one of the architects of the current process, opted not to return to the position he had held for 17 of the last 18 years. Larry Karaszewski and Diane Weyermann are the new co-chairs.

TheWrap has compiled a full list of the films that have entered the race to date, with links to trailers when available. The list is available here and will be regularly updated.

89 Stunning Portraits From TheWrap's Toronto Studio (Exclusive Photos)

  • TIFF Split toronto
  • Elle Fanning, Teen Spirit
  • Max Minghella, Elle Fanning, Clara Rugaard, Zlatko Buric, Teen Spirit
  • Elle Fanning, Teen Spirit
  • Alexander Skarsgård, Hold the Dark
  • Mia Goth,Robert Pattinson and Claire Dennis, High Life
  • Maggie Gyllenhaal and Gael Garcia Bernal, Kindergarten Teacher
  • Maggie Gyllenhaal, Kindergarten Teacher
  • Maggie Gyllenhaal, Kindergarten Teacher
  • Maggie Gyllenhaal, Kindergarten Teacher
  • Alonso Ruizpalacios and Gael Garcia Bernal, Museum
  • Brian Tyree Henry, Liam Neeson, Colin Farrell and Daniel Kaluuya, Widows
  • Elizabeth Debicki, Widows
  • Colin Farrell, Widows
  • Cynthia Erivo, Widows
  • Kyle MacLachlan and Maria Bello, Giant Little Ones
  • Kyle MacLachlan and Maria Bello, Giant Little Ones
  • Radhika Apte and Dev Patel, The Wedding Guest
  • Radhika Apte and Dev Patel, The Wedding Guest
  • Nicole Kidman, Destroyer
  • Karyn Kusama, Nicole Kidman, Tatiana Maslany and Sebastian Stan, Destroyer
  • Paul Dano, Wildlife
  • Paul Dano and Carey Mulligan, Wildife
  • Jena Malone, The Public
  • Emilio Estevez, Jena Malone, Christian Slater, and Michaek K. WilliamsThe Public
  • Emilio Estevez, The Public
  • Michael Kenneth Williams, The Public
  • Jason Reitman, Matt Bai and Jay Carson, The Frontrunner
  • Adam Stein, Lexy Kolker, and Zach Lipovsky, Freaks
  • Garrard Conley and Joel Edgerton, Boy Erased
  • Jason Sudeikis, Judy Greer, Lee Pace, Nick Hamm, and Isabel Arraiza, Driven
  • Isabel Arraiza, Driven
  • Lily Rose Depp, A Faithful Man
  • Lily Rose Depp, Louis Garrel, and Laetitia, A Faithful Man
  • Laetitia Casta, A Faithful Man
  • Laetita Casta and Lily Rose Depp, A Faithful Man
  • Y'Lan Noel, "The Weekend"
  • Sienna Miller, Jake Scott, Will Sasso, Aaron Paul, and Christina Hendricks, American Woman
  • Werner Herzog, Meeting Gorbachev
  • Alexis Bloom, Divide and Conquer The Story of Roger Ailes
  • Taylor Hickson, Giant Little Ones
  • Karyn Kusama, Destroyer
  • László Nemes, Sunset
  • Lee Chang-dong,Burning
  • Steven Yeun, Burning
  • Darren Mann, Josh Wiggins, and Taylor Hickson, Giant Little Ones
  • Zlatko Buric, Teen Spirit
  • Clara Rugaard, Teen Spirit
  • Max Mingella, Teen Spirit
  • Darren Mann, Giant Little Ones
  • Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, Never Look Away
  • Jessie Buckley, Wild Rose
  • Nicole Taylor and Jessie Buckley, Wild Rose
  • Nicole Taylor and Jessie Buckley, Wild Rose
  • Jessie Buckley, Wild Rose
  • Christian Slater, The Public
  • Joel Edgerton, Boy Erased
  • Josh Singer, First Man
  • Josh Wiggins, Giant Little Ones
  • Liam Neeson, Widows
  • Louis Garrel, A Faithful Man
  • Sebastian Koch, Never Look Away
  • Sebastian Stan, Destroyer
  • Tatiana Maslany, Destroyer
  • Thoma Mann, The Land of Steady Habits
  • Thomas Mann, Nicole Holofcener and Ben Mendelsohn, The Land of Steady Habits
  • Tom Schilling, Never Look Away
  • Ali Abassi, Border
  • Paul Greengrass, Åsne Seierstad, Jonas Strand Gravli, Seda Wit and Jon Oigarden, 22 July
  • Damien Chazelle, Linus Sandgren,Ai-Ling Lee Tom Cross, and Josh Singer, First Man
  • Errol Morris, American Dharma
  • Judy Greer, Driven
  • Jason Sudeikis, Driven
  • Lee Pace, Driven
  • Jeffrey Wright, Hold the Dark
  • Nadine Labaki, Capernaum
  • Paul Greengrass, 22 July
  • Wanuri Kahiu, Rafiki
  • Damien Chazelle, First Man
  • Victor Polster, Lukas Dhont, and Arieh Worthalter, Girl
  • Lukas Dhont, Girl
  • Victor Polster and Arieh Worthalter, GIrl
  • Paul Greengrass, Strand Gravli, Jon Oigarden, Seda Wit, and Asne Seierstad, 22 July
  • Roddy Doyle and Paddy Breathnach, Rosie
  • Paddy Breathnach, Rosie .jpg
  • Roddy Doyle, Rosie
  • Felix Van Groeningen, Beautiful Boy
  • Jason Reitman, The Front Runner
  • Juli Jakab, Sunset
1 of 89

Toronto Film Festival 2018: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Elle Fanning, Robert Pattinson and more stop by our studio

View In Gallery

Related Content

Keep
Reading...

Looks like you’re enjoying reading
Keep reading by creating
a free account or logging in.
Continue