France is taking an increasingly international route to the Oscars.
The country has selected Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Minotaur, the Russian-language drama that won the Grand Prix at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, as its entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 99th Academy Awards. The decision puts a politically charged film from a Russian filmmaker at the center of France’s Oscar campaign—and highlights how the French film industry has become an important home for filmmakers working across borders.
The selection was announced September 16 after France’s Oscar committee considered five shortlisted films.
But the choice is about more than one celebrated Cannes title. It also reflects how the definition of “French cinema” is evolving.
A Russian-Language Film Chosen to Represent France
At first glance, Minotaur might seem an unusual choice for France.
The film is directed by Russian filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev, is primarily in Russian and is set in Russia. Yet France is its principal production base, with French companies CG Cinéma and MK Productions leading the production alongside partners in Latvia and Germany.
That production structure made the film eligible to represent France.
Zvyagintsev also lives in exile in France and has become one of the most internationally recognized Russian filmmakers of his generation.
The result is a film that sits between several cinematic identities rather than belonging neatly to one.
Cannes Gave the Film Its First Major Boost
Minotaur arrived at Cannes with considerable expectations because it marked Zvyagintsev’s return to feature filmmaking after nearly a decade.
Those expectations grew after the film received the Grand Prix, one of the festival’s most important awards.
The Cannes recognition immediately placed the film on the awards-season map.
For France, selecting a film already carrying major festival recognition also provides a useful international platform as the Oscar campaign begins.
The film will now move from the Cannes spotlight into the much longer Academy Awards process.
A Story About Power, War and Private Breakdown
Minotaur follows Gleb, a successful company executive whose carefully organized life begins to unravel as he faces mounting professional and personal pressures.
The story unfolds against the backdrop of Russia in the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine and explores how political violence and social instability can reach deeply into ordinary private lives.
That combination of intimate drama and broader political tension is familiar territory for Zvyagintsev, whose earlier films such as Leviathan and Loveless examined corruption, family breakdown and social pressure.
But Minotaur approaches those themes through a new setting: a filmmaker who made the movie outside Russia and now lives in France.
France’s Cinema Is Becoming More International
The selection also continues a pattern.
Last year, France submitted Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident, which went on to receive an Oscar nomination. The film had won the Palme d’Or at Cannes.
Two consecutive selections involving internationally prominent filmmakers working outside traditional French-language cinema underline the changing character of France’s production industry.
France is not simply selecting films because they look traditionally French.
Its production companies, financing structures and international partnerships can give films from other countries a path into major awards campaigns.
That makes the French submission increasingly reflective of France’s role as a global production center, rather than only a national cinema.
The Other Contenders Were Very Different
The committee had five films to consider.
Alongside Minotaur were Antonin Baudry’s historical drama De Gaulle: Résistance, Arthur Harari’s The Unknown, Marine Atlan’s La Gradiva and Louis Clichy’s animated film Iron Boy.
The shortlist itself showed the range of contemporary French filmmaking.
It included historical cinema, animation, international productions and films made by filmmakers with different cultural backgrounds.
The final choice therefore came from a field that was already much broader than the traditional image of a French Oscar contender.
A New Oscar Rule Could Change the Race
The 2027 Oscars also introduce an important rule change for the international feature category.
Films that win the top prize at one of six designated international festivals—including Cannes—can enter the international feature competition without necessarily being their country’s official submission.
That means the international race could become more complicated, with major festival winners potentially reaching the Academy process through a route independent of national selection.
For Minotaur, France’s submission nevertheless gives the film a formal national campaign and puts the resources of the French film industry behind its Oscar effort.
France Is Still Chasing a Long-Awaited Win
Despite its enormous influence on world cinema, France has not won the International Feature Film Oscar since Régis Wargnier’s Indochine won in 1993.
The country has remained a regular presence in the category, but the gap between nominations and victory has become increasingly noticeable.
France has changed its selection process several times in recent years as it seeks to strengthen its Oscar campaigns. The CNC has also created a new Academy Awards-focused role, appointing international film strategist Sébastien Cauchon to help coordinate the campaign for the French submission.
That suggests the country is treating the Oscar campaign as more than a ceremonial submission.
The Oscar Race Is Only Beginning
Being selected by France does not guarantee Minotaur a nomination.
The Academy will first narrow the international feature field to a 15-film shortlist, scheduled for December 15. Final Oscar nominations are due to be announced January 21, 2027. The 99th Academy Awards will take place March 14, 2027.
Between now and then, the film will need to attract attention from Academy voters, distributors, critics and international audiences.
Its Cannes pedigree gives it an important starting point, but the Oscar campaign will depend on how effectively that momentum is maintained.
Why Minotaur Matters Beyond the Oscars
The most interesting part of France’s decision may not be whether Minotaur eventually receives a nomination.
It is what the selection says about the country’s place in international filmmaking.
A Russian-language film made by an exiled Russian director, produced largely through French companies and recognized at Cannes, will now carry France’s name into the Academy Awards race.
That would have been an unusual combination only a few years ago.
Today, it reflects an increasingly interconnected film industry in which national borders matter less to production, financing and artistic collaboration.
For France, Minotaur is therefore both an Oscar entry and a statement about the reach of its cinema.
The film’s next challenge is to turn Cannes recognition into sustained awards-season momentum. Whether it reaches the final Oscar nominations will be decided months from now—but France has already chosen a submission that places international filmmaking, political drama and French production power at the center of its 2027 campaign.