The Oscars 2025 Academy Awards are the most prestigious film awards in the United States, and the world. The entire year in the film industry is arranged around the Oscars. Studios release their strongest films around the holidays to keep them top of mind for Academy reviewers. The “Best International Feature Film” category is of particular interest because it includes films from across the Latin world. The films countries submit to the awards, say a lot about that country.
98th Oscars 2026 Academy Awards
The 98th Oscars, 2026 Academy Awards will be hosted by Conan O’Brian from the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Hollywood, California; on Sunday, March 15, 2026 at 7pm ET. You can watch the ceremony on ABC-7.
Latin Best International Feature Film Submissions
Films must have been theatrically released in their home country between October 1, 2024 and September 30, 2025. Submissions were due October 1, 2025. The shortlist of 15 films will be announced on December 16, 2025.
There are many stories about family and the lives of women. One of the interesting things about these international films is the use of Indigenous languages and some Creole languages which are disappearing.
Argentina 🇦🇷
“Belén” by Dolores Fonzi in Spanish. Argentina has a small, but vibrant film industry.
Bolivia 🇧🇴
“La casa del sur” (The Southern House) by Carina Oroza and Ramiro Fierro, in Spanish.
Brazil 🇧🇷
“O Agente Secreto” (The Secret Agent) by Kleber Mendonça Filho is in Portuguese.
It stars Wagner Moura who played Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar in the Netflix Series “Narcos.” Moura is a great actor. He said it was hard to play Escobar because he had to internalize the man’s evil nature.
Chile 🇨🇱
“La misteriosa mirada del flamenco” (The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo) by Diego Céspedes is in Spanish.
Colombia 🇨🇴
“Un poeta” (A Poet) by Simón Mesa Soto is in Spanish.
Costa Rica 🇨🇷
“El monaguillo, el cura y el jardinero” (The Altar Boy, The Priest, and The Gardener) by Juan Manuel Fernánde is in Spanish.
Dominican Republic 🇩🇴
“Pepe,” by Nelson Carlo de Los Santos Arias, is a surrealist tale about the ghost of a hippo in the Dominican Republic, a place with great natural beauty where some very old traditional ways of living carry on. The film is in Spanish, Afrikaans, Mbukushu (a Bantu language of Southern Africa), and German.
Ecuador 🇪🇨
“Chuzalongo” by Diego Ortuño is in Spanish and Kichwa, a form of Northern Quechua spoken in Ecuador, Colombia, and parts of Northern Peru.
France 🇫🇷
“It Was Just an Accident” by Jafar Panahi is in Persian and Azerbaijani.
Haiti 🇭🇹
“Kidnapping Inc” by Bruno Mourral is in Haitian Creole, French, Spanish, and English. Haiti resubmitted its 2024 entry, a comedy about a tragic situation. It’s very Caribbean to make fun of the hard parts of life.
Italy 🇮🇹
“Familia” by Francesco Costabile is in Italian.
Mexico 🇲🇽
“No nos moverán” (We Shall Not Be Moved) by Pierre Saint-Martin Castellanos is in Spanish.
Panama 🇵🇦
“Querido trópico” (Beloved Tropic) by Ana Endara is in Spanish.
Paraguay 🇵🇾
“Bajo las banderas, el sol” (Under the Flags, the Sun) by Juanjo Pereira is in Spanish, Guarani, German, French, English, and Portuguese.
Peru 🇵🇪
“Kinra” by Marco Pantonic is in Quechua and Spanish.
Portugal 🇵🇹
“Banzo” by Margarida Cardoso is in Portuguese and Principense Creole, an endangered language of São Tomé and Principe with fewer than 200 aging native speakers. São Tomé and Principe and Central African island country.
Romania 🇷🇴
“Jaful Secolului” by Teodora Mihai is in Romanian, Dutch, and English.
Senegal 🇸🇳
“Demba” by Mamadou Dia is in Fula.
South Africa 🇿🇦
“The Heart is a Muscle” by Imran Hamdulay is in Afrikaans and English.
Spain 🇪🇸
“Sirāt” by Oliver Laxe is in Spanish and French.
Uganda 🇺🇬
“Kimote” by Hassan Mageye is in Luganda.
United Kingdom 🇬🇧
“My Father’s Shadow” by Akinola Davies Jr. is in Nigerian Pidgin, English, and Yoruba.
Uruguay 🇺🇾
“Agarrame fuerte” (Don’t You Let Me Go) by Ana Guevara and Leticia Jorge is in Spanish.
Venezuela 🇻🇪
“Ali Primera” by Danie Yegres is in Spanish.
97th Oscars 2025 Academy Awards
There are several key dates on the road to the Oscars:
- “Best International Feature Film” submissions are due on October 2, 2024. 85 films have been accepted. China’s entry “The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru” was disqualified because its dialogue was more than half English, and it was submitted too late for China to make a correction. Entries from Haiti (Kidnapping, Inc), Jordan (My Sweet Land), and Uruguay (“Hay una puerta ahí” / The Door is There), were not included on the final list.
- “Best Picture” and general submissions are due on Thursday, November 14, 2024
- Shortlists are announced on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
- Nominations are revealed on Friday, January 17, 2025.
The 97th Oscars 2025 Academy Awards are broadcast live on ABC-7 from the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in California; on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at 7pm.