A. To be eligible for awards consideration for the 99th awards year, an international feature film must fulfill one of the following qualifying criteria.

1. The film must be the official selection by a country or region via the country or region’s Academy-approved Selection Committee.

OR

2. The film must have won a qualifying award at an international film festival, as specified in the International Feature Film Award Qualifying Festival List. The International Feature Film Award Qualifying Festival List is available at www.oscars.org or may be obtained from the Academy.  

QUALIFYING FESTIVALS AND AWARDS FOR THE 99TH ACADEMY AWARDS®

For the 99th Academy Awards®, the qualifying festivals and awards are:

• Berlin International Film Festival — Golden Bear for Best Film

• Busan International Film Festival — Busan Award – Best Film Award

• Cannes Film Festival — Palme d’Or

• Sundance Film Festival — World Cinema Grand Jury Prize

• Toronto International Film Festival — Platform Award

• Venice International Film Festival — Golden Lion

IMPORTANT

A film does not qualify through the festival pathway simply by:

• being selected for one of these festivals;

• screening at one of these festivals;

• participating in competition at one of these festivals; or

• winning a different award at one of these festivals.

To qualify through the festival pathway, the film must win the specific qualifying award listed above.

B.

All film submissions must be first released theatrically in the country or region of origin for paid admission. The theatrical release must begin no earlier than October 1, 2025, and no later than September 30, 2026, and be first publicly exhibited for at least seven consecutive days in a commercial motion picture theater for the profit of the producer and exhibitor. The seven consecutive days of the theatrical release are required to occur in one venue. In order for films to more easily meet theatrical exhibition requirements, the Academy will allow films to qualify outside the country or region of origin, provided the film is theatrically exhibited outside of the United States and its territories for at least seven consecutive days in a commercial motion picture theater for paid admission.

All motion pictures qualifying under this paragraph shall satisfy the theatrical exhibition format requirements of Rule Two, Paragraph 2.B.

C. The film’s theatrical release must be advertised and exploited during its qualifying theatrical release in a manner considered normal and customary to theatrical feature distribution practices. The film need not have been released in the United States.

D. Films that, in any version, receive a nontheatrical public exhibition or distribution before their  qualifying theatrical release will not be eligible for Academy Awards consideration.

Nontheatrical public exhibition or distribution includes but is not limited to:

• Broadcast and cable television

• Pay Per View/Video on Demand

• DVD and/or streaming distribution

• Inflight airline distribution

• Internet transmission

E. The recording of the original dialogue track as well as the completed picture must be predominantly (more than 50%) in a language or languages other than English. Accurate, legible English language subtitles are required.

F. The submitting country or region must confirm that creative control of the film was largely in the hands of citizens, residents, or individuals with refugee or asylum status in the submitting country or region.

G. Should a selection committee not disclose up-to-date and/or accurate information related to a submitted film crew’s citizenship, business-related affiliation or credit on a selected film, designated credits, production details and release information, a film will be deemed ineligible.

H. The International Feature Film Executive Committee shall resolve all questions of eligibility and rules.

A.   An Academy-approved Selection Committee must fulfill the following:

1. Each country or region shall be invited to submit its best film to the Academy. Selection of that film shall be made by one approved organization, jury, or committee, of which at least 50% must include artists and/or craftspeople from the field of motion pictures. A list of the selection committee members must be submitted to the Academy no later than Friday, August 14, 2026, or by the submission deadline published by the Academy. All selection committees will be required to adhere to guidelines that are approved by the International Feature Film Executive Committee. Countries or regions submitting for the first time, or which have not submitted for the previous five years, must present a list of selection committee members and application materials for Academy approval by December 31, 2026, for eligibility in the following (100th) Awards year. A country or region need not submit a film every year for Awards consideration.

2. Only one film will be accepted from each country or region as the official selection. Films should be submitted to the Academy as soon as they are selected.

3. The Academy will provide online access to each country or region’s approved selection committee so that the producer of the selected film can supply full production information.

4. The submitting country or region must confirm that creative control of the film was largely in the hands of citizens, residents, or individuals with refugee or asylum status in the submitting country or region.

B.   The following submission materials must be submitted to the Academy by 5 p.m. PT on Wednesday, September 30, 2026:

• Completed online submission forms

• Digital upload of the film for streaming purposes

• [For Internal Use Only] A secure and password-protected link to the film. This is required to test non-English dialogue.

• Full cast and credits list

• Director’s biography and photograph

• A designated key frame for streaming display artwork
• Proof of the film’s qualifying theatrical release, including but not limited to advertising

C.   Should a selection committee not disclose up-to-date and/or accurate information related to a submitted film’s crew’s citizenship, business-related affiliation or credit on a selected film, designated credits, production details and release information, a film may be deemed ineligible.

D.   Entrants whose films advance to the shortlist must submit either one 35mm or 70mm film print or one DCP of the film after the shortlist is announced. By submitting a film, the filmmakers agree that the Academy has the right to make copies and distribute them for voting purposes only. The Academy will retain for its archives one print of every motion picture receiving a nomination for the International Feature Film award.

A.   International Feature Film nominations will be determined in two rounds of voting:

1. In the preliminary round, all active and life Academy members will be invited to view the eligible submissions in the category. Those who opt in will be required to see a minimum number of submitted eligible films as defined by the current procedures. Members will vote by secret ballot in the order of their preference for not more than fifteen motion pictures. The fifteen motion pictures receiving the highest number of votes shall advance to the next round of voting.
2. In the nominations round, all active and life Academy members will be invited to view the fifteen shortlisted films in the category. A member must see all shortlisted films for the ballot to be counted. Members shall vote in the order of their preference for not more than five motion pictures. The five motion pictures receiving the highest number of votes shall become the nominations for final voting for the International Feature Film award.

B.   Final voting for the International Feature Film award shall be restricted to active and life Academy members who have viewed all five nominated films.

C.    The Academy statuette (Oscar) will be awarded to the film and accepted by the director on behalf of the film’s creative talents. For Academy Awards purposes, the country will be credited as the nominee. The director’s name will be listed on the statuette plaque after the country and film title.

In addition to complying with the Awards Rules for the 99th Academy Awards, all participants in the Awards competition are also bound by the Awards Campaign Promotional Regulations concerning the promotion of eligible films and are subject to the penalties provided therein, including the potential declaration of ineligibility by the Board of Governors for violation of those guidelines.

1. International Feature Film submissions may be submitted for consideration for the 99th Academy Awards in other categories, including Best Picture, provided they comply with the rules governing those categories.

2. Animated feature films submitted to the International Feature Film category are eligible for the Animated Feature Film category, provided that they meet the eligibility requirements outlined for the International Feature Film category and the Animated Feature Film category.

3. Documentary feature films submitted to the International Feature Film category are eligible for the Documentary Feature Film category, provided that they meet the eligibility requirements outlined for the International Feature Film category and the Documentary Feature Film category.

4. Films submitted for consideration in the International Feature Film category for the 99th Academy Awards are NOT eligible for consideration in other awards categories in the subsequent year, nor could the films have been submitted in other awards categories in a previous year.