Well, there are always going to be snubs when it comes to the International Film Oscar race and the first two casualties were Julia Docournau’s “Titane” and Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s “Memoria” as neither film made the shortlist cut. The latter was expected, but the former? Many thought it would at least make the shortlist. Asghar Farhadi’s “A Hero,” Ryusuke Hamaguchi‘s “Drive My Car,” Paolo Sorrentino‘s “The Hand of God,”
Jonas Poher Rasmussen‘s “Flee,” Joachim Trier’s “The Worst Person in the World,” all made the list of 15 contenders, but not all of them will be among the final five nominees.
READ MORE: “Flee” is a stellar exploration of refugee trauma [Sundance Review]
Two lower-profile films, “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom” (Bhutan) and “Playground” (Belgium), each have an excellent chance at landing in the fifth slot. [Updated Jan 2]
Likely
Denmark, “Flee”
Japan, “Drive My Car”
Norway, “The Worst Person in the World”
Iran, “A Hero”
Bhutan, “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom”
Almost There
Belgium, “Playground”
Italy, “The Hand of God”
Finland, “Compartment No. 6”
Austria, “Great Freedom”
Spain, “The Good Boss”
Longshots
Kosovo, “Hive”
Mexico, “Prayers for the Stolen”
Panama, “Plaza Catedral”
Iceland, “Lamb”
Germany, “I’m Your Man”
2022 Contenders and Predictions
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Original Screenplay
Adapted Screenplay
International Film