2026 Oscar Predictions: DOCUMENTARY FEATURE and INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM (October)
Fifteen films in Documentary Feature and International Feature Film will be shortlisted for Oscar consideration on December 16.
For doc precursors we have the nominations from Critics Choice and the shortlist for DOC NYC. As we have to mention every season, the Critics Choice curse in this category is still very strong for winners there but nominations give us a good jumping off point.
The Critics Choice nominees are: 2000 Meters to Andriivka (Frontline Features / The Associated Press / PBS Distribution), The Alabama Solution (HBO Max), Apocalypse in the Tropics (Netflix), Cover-Up (Netflix), Deaf President Now! (Apple TV), Orwell: 2+2=5 (NEON), Pee-wee as Himself (HBO Max) – not eligible, The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix), Riefenstahl (Kino Lorber) and The Tale of Silyan (National Geographic).
The DOC NYC shortlist is made up of: 2000 Meters to Andriivka (Frontline Features/The Associated Press/PBS Distribution), Co-Existence, My Ass!, Come See My in the Good Light, Cutting Through Rocks, Heightened Scrutiny, Mistress Dispeller, Mr. Nobody Against Putin, My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay (HBO Max), The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix), Predators, Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk and The Tale of Silyan (National Geographic).
Recently, the European Film Academy revealed the shortlist for their top film category, where 13 films from official country submissions were included: Father (Slovakia), Franz (Poland), It Was Just an Accident (France), Late Shift (Switzerland), Little Trouble Girls (Slovenia), The Love That Remains (Iceland), One of Those Days When Hemme Dies (Turkey), Palestine 36 (Palestine), Sentimental Value (Norway), Sirāt (Spain), Sound of Falling (Germany), The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tunisia) and Young Mothers (Belgium).
Of note, Croatia’s Fiume o Morte! and Latvia’s Dog of God also made the short list in the EFA Documentary Feature and Animated Feature categories.
Adding to that, BIFA, the British Independent Film Awards, revealed their shortlist for its international category which includes these official submissions: It Was Just an Accident, Late Shift, Left-Handed Girl (Taiwan), Little Trouble Girls (Slovenia), The Love That Remains, No Other Choice (South Korea), The President’s Cake (Iraq), The Secret Agent (Brazil), Sentimental Value, Sirât, Sound of Falling and The Voice of Hind Rajab.
Here are my 2026 Oscar nomination predictions in Documentary Feature and International Feature Film for October.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE (shortlist of 15)
| 1. Cover-Up (Netflix) | Montclair Film Festival David Carr Award for Truth in Non-Fiction Filmmaking |
| 2. The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix) | Sundance Directing Award for U.S. Documentary |
| 3. Apocalypse in the Tropics (Netflix) | Montclair Film Festival David Carr Award for Truth in Non-Fiction Filmmaking |
| 4. 2000 Meters to Andriivka (Frontline Features / The Associated Press / PBS Distribution) | Sundance World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award |
| 5. Mr. Nobody Against Putin (ZDF/Arte) | Sundance World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award, Ann Arbor Film Festival Audience Award |
| 6. Orwell: 2+2=5 (NEON) | |
| 7. The Eyes of Ghana (Higher Ground Productions) | Hamptons International Film Festival Audience Award |
| 8. Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk (Kino Lorber) | |
| 9. The Tale of Silyan (National Geographic) | |
| 10. Riefenstahl (Kino Lorber) | |
| 11. Predators (MTV Documentary Films / Paramount+) | |
| 12. Come See Me in the Good Light (Apple Original Films) | Sundance Festival Favorite Award, San Francisco International Film Festival Audience Award, Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival Audience Award, Seattle International Film Festival Best Documentary Award, Cleveland International Film Festival Best Film, Provincetown International Film Festival Best Film, |
| 13. The Alabama Solution (HBO Max) | |
| 14. Deaf President Now! (Apple Original Films) | |
| 15. My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay (HBO Max) |
Other contenders: Cutting Through Rocks, The Encampments, Fiume o Morte!, Grand Theft Hamlet, One to One: John & Yoko, Prime Minister
INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM (shortlist of 15)
| 1. France — It Was Just an Accident (NEON) | Cannes Palme d’Or |
| 2. Norway — Sentimental Value (NEON) | Cannes Grand Prize |
| 3. Tunisia — The Voice of Hind Rajab (Awaiting U.S. distribution) | Venice Grand Jury Prize |
| 4. Brazil — The Secret Agent (NEON) | |
| 5. Taiwan — Left-Handed Girl (Netflix) | |
| 6. Iraq — The President’s Cake (Sony Pictures Classics) | Cannes Camera d’Or, Directors Fortnight Audience Award |
| 7. South Korea — No Other Choice (NEON) | TIFF People’s Choice International Award |
| 8. Spain — Sirāt (NEON) | Cannes Jury Prize |
| 9. Germany — Sound of Falling (MUBI) | Cannes Jury Prize |
| 10. Denmark — Mr. Nobody Against Putin (TBD) | Sundance World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award |
| 11. Ukraine — 2000 Meters to Andriivka (Frontline Features/The Associated Press/PBS Distribution) | Sundance World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award |
| 12. Slovenia — Little Trouble Girls (Kino Lorber) | Berlin FIPRESCI Prize – Perspectives |
| 13. Argentina — Belén (Amazon MGM) | |
| 14. Switzerland — Late Shift (Music Box Films) | |
| 15. Colombia — A Poet (1-2 Special) | Cannes Un Certain Regard Jury Prize, San Sebastián International Film Festival Horizons Award |
Next up: Belgium — Young Mothers (Music Box Films), Canada — The Things You Kill (Cineverse), Iceland — The Love That Remains (Janus Films), Jordan — All That’s Left of You (Watermelon Pictures/Visibility Films), United Kingdom — My Father’s Shadow (MUBI)
Other contenders: Chile — The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo (TBD), Hungary — Orphan (TBD), India — Homebound (TBD), Italy — Family (TBD), Japan — Kokuhô (GKids), Mexico — We Shall Not Be Moved (TBD), Palestine — Palestine 36 (Watermelon Pictures), Philippines — Magellan (Janus Films), Poland — Franz (TBD)
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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