Oscar 2023: France will be represented by a new director after Julia Ducournau

Which work will Titane’s Julia Ducournau, who represented France in the race for best foreign film at the Oscars last year, play?

There were five candidates on the final list of the commission, which is responsible for selecting the film for this honor.

In the end it was Saint Omer, directed by Alice Diop, who was chosen to represent France. The story follows Rama, a young writer. The latter attends the trial of Lawrence Coley at the Assize Court of Saint-Omer.

The latter is accused of abandoning his fifteen-month-old daughter at high tide off the coast of northern France. But during the trial, the word of the accused, hearing the testimony shakes Rama’s conviction and casts doubt on our judgment.

The film was awarded twice at the Venice Film Festival: the Silver Lion (Grand Jury Prize) and the Future Lion (Best First Film).

We owe the selection of this film to a commission made up of filmmakers Michel Gondry and Jacques Audiard, producers Philippe Roussel and Didard Domehr, exporters Grégoire Mellin and Hengame Panah, and Arian Toscan du Plantier, Director of Communication and Heritage at Gaumont.

The commission vetted the producers, international sellers and US distributors of each shortlisted work before making its decision today.

It remains to be seen if Saint Omer will indeed be one of the 5 feature films nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, which will be announced on January 24, 2023. Until then, of course, he must be one. 15 international shortlist films are expected on December 21.

A new selection procedure

Note that the Committee meets in the presence of the President of CNC and the President of Unifrance, who have observer status without voting rights.

In addition, the CNC explained that the selection process has evolved this year: feature films wishing to be nominated for the French Oscars had until September 1 to submit their application. 33 films received applications this year.

FYI, only feature films released between January 1 and November 30, 2022 can be in a majority language other than English (but not necessarily French) with a majority French cast.

The 95th Academy Awards will be held on March 12, 2023 in Los Angeles. Last year, Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car won the statuette for the best international film.