2020 Oscar Nomination Predictions: INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM (December)

The official Oscar shortlist for International Feature Film was released yesterday and with it came some huge snubs and even bigger surprise inclusions. Although four of my top 5 from last month made the cut, Sweden’s And Then We Danced did not. In fact, no film with and LGBTQ key subject did. Also missing? Latin America, completely. No Colombia (Monos), no Mexico (The Chambermaid), no Brazil (Invisible Life).
What we got in their place were Estonia (Truth and Justice), Hungary (Those Who Remained) and Czech Republic’s The Painted Bird. Never, ever discount the impact of a Holocaust-related film in this category, as the latter two reveal.
Oscar Podcast #77: Discussing the Oscar Shortlists with guest Will Mavity
Here are my 2020 Oscar Nomination Predictions in International Feature Film for December 17, 2019.
Green – moves up Red – moves down Blue – new/re-entry
1. South Korea – Parasite (Bong Joon-ho) – Neon
2. Spain – Pain and Glory (Pedro Almodóvar) – Sony Classics
3. France – Les Misérables (Ladj Ly) – Amazon
4. Russia – Beanpole (Kantemir Balagov) – Kino Lorber
5. Senegal – Atlantics (Mati Diop) – Netflix
6. Estonia – Truth and Justice (Tanel Toom)
7. Poland – Corpus Christi (Jan Komasa) – Film Movement
8. Hungary – Those Who Remained (Barnabás Tóth)
9. North Macedonia – Honeyland (Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov) – Neon
10. Czech Republic – The Painted Bird (Václav Marhoul) – IFC Films
- ‘Jay Kelly,’ ‘Hamnet,’ ‘Pluribus,’ ‘Task’ and More on AFI’s Top 10 Films and Television of 2025 Lists - December 4, 2025
- ‘Frankenstein’ to Receive Visionary Honor from Palm Springs International Film Awards - December 4, 2025
- Robert Yeoman to be Honored with American Society of Cinematographers’ Lifetime Achievement Award - December 3, 2025

‘Jay Kelly,’ ‘Hamnet,’ ‘Pluribus,’ ‘Task’ and More on AFI’s Top 10 Films and Television of 2025 Lists
‘Frankenstein’ to Receive Visionary Honor from Palm Springs International Film Awards
Robert Yeoman to be Honored with American Society of Cinematographers’ Lifetime Achievement Award
National Board of Review: ‘One Battle After Another’ Tops in Film, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor; Netflix Lands Four in Top 10