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The five films shortlisted to represent France at the Oscars
One of these will be chosen next week to be France’s representative
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Five French films have been shortlisted to represent France in the 2027 Oscar for Best International Feature Film.
The selection was announced on September 10 by CNC, France’s national centre for cinema, following a meeting of the 11-member committee.
The five films in the running are:
La Bataille de Gaulle - L’Âge de fer, directed by Antonin Baudry and produced by Pathé Films
Le Corset, directed by Louis Clichy and produced by Eddy Cinéma
La Gradiva, directed by Marine Atlan and produced by Les Films du Poisson
L’Inconnue, directed by Arthur Harari and produced by Bathysphère Productions and To Be Continued
Minotaure, directed by Andreï Zviaguintsev and produced by CG Cinéma and MK Productions
Antonin Baudry’s The Battle of de Gaulle: The Iron Age, starring Simon Abkarian as Charles de Gaulle, is the first part of a two-film account of the future French president during the Second World War. It has been a major box-office success in France, selling around three million tickets by September 2026.
The shortlist also includes Minotaur, directed by Russian filmmaker Andreï Zvyagintsev. It follows Gleb, a successful businessman whose carefully ordered life begins to fall apart after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As employees leave the country, others are called up for military service, while Gleb also discovers that his wife is having an affair. Under the pressure, he becomes increasingly violent.
Arthur Harari’s The Unknown, which also screened in competition at Cannes, follows a man who wakes up in a woman’s body, played by Léa Seydoux, in a surreal and disturbing story.
Then, Marine Atlan’s Gradiva, follows a group of French school pupils on a trip to Pompeii, where the ancient ruins and bodies preserved by the eruption of Vesuvius stir unexpected feelings among them.
Finally, Louis Clichy’s animated feature The Corset. Set in rural France in the 1980s, it tells the story of 11-year-old Christophe, whose life changes after an accident leaves him having to wear an orthopaedic corset. He escapes into his imagination to cope with his strict father and life on the family farm.
Now, the commission that selected them is set to meet again on September 16 to hear presentations from the producers, international sale agents and, where relevant, US distributors.
It will then choose the film that will officially represent France in the 2027 Oscars campaign.
