Bound for the 2020 Oscars © FDC
It's official, Les Misérables by Ladj Ly, which garnered the Jury Prize at Cannes last May, will represent France at the 2020 Oscars! It's the 12th Cannes film to compete for the the Best Foreign Film gong. Last year, 87 films from round the world vied for the prize. By tradition, the preselection, comprising 10 films, is announced in December. The 5 films nominated in this category will be revealed on January 13, 2020 and the Oscars ceremony will be held on 9 February.
Update at 16/12 – Today, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the shortlisted films in nine categories, including the Best International Film for 2020. Of the ten films selected for this year's Oscar nominations, five picked up gongs at Cannes in 2019: Gisaengchung (Parasite) by Bong Joon-Ho (South Korea), Atlantique (Atlantics) by Mati Diop (Senegal), Les Misérables by Ladj Ly, Pain and Glory by Pedro Almodóvar and Beanpole by Kantemir Balagov.
Update at 13/01 – It's a record year for Cannes films, with 21 nominations for the 2020 Oscars including 10 for Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood and 6 for the Palme d'or winner, Parasite, which made history as the first South Korean film to compete for the Oscar for best film. Three Cannes films were nominated for the Oscar for the best international film, including Les Misérables by Ladj Ly, representing France.
Parasite by Bong Joon-Ho: nominated for the Oscars for best film, best director, best international film, best original screenplay, best production design and best film editing.
Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood by Quentin Tarantino: nominated for the Oscars for best film, best director, best original screenplay, best production design, best cinematography, best costume design, best sound editing and best sound mixing. The film is also competing for the Oscar for best lead actor for Leonardo di Caprio and the Oscar for best supporting actor for Brad Pitt.
Pain and Glory by Pedro Almodóvar: nominated for the Oscar for best lead actor for Antonio Banderas.
For Sama by Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts: nominated for the Oscar for the best documentary.
Rocketman by Dexter Fletcher: nominated for the Oscar for the best original song for "I'm Gonna Love Me Again".
Competing for the Oscar for best international film: Parasite by Bong Joon-Ho (South Korea), Les Misérables by Ladj Ly (France), Pain and Glory by Pedro Almodóvar (Spain).
The list of Cannes films submitted this year.
South Korea – Gisaengchung (Parasite) by Bong Joon Ho – Palme d'or
Senegal – Atlantique (Atlantics) by Mati Diop – Grand Prix
France – Les Misérables by Ladj Ly – Jury Prize
Spain – Dolor y Gloria (Pain and Glory) by Pedro Almodóvar – Best Male Actor
Palestine – It Must be Heaven by Elia Suleiman – Special mention
Italy – Il Traditore (The Traitor) by Marco Bellocchio
Romania – La Gomera (The Whistlers) by Corneliu Porumboiu.
Brazil – A Vida invisível de Eurídice Gusmão (The invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão) by Karim Aïnouz – Un Certain Regard Prize
Russia – Beanpole by Kantemir Balagov – Best Director Award, Un Certain Regard
Morocco – Adam by Maryam Touzani
Algeria – Papicha by Mounia Meddour
Ukraine – Evge (Homeward) by Nariman Aliev
