Explainer - How a film gets Oscar nomination for International Feature Film?

• The Film Federation of India has selected Hindi film ‘Homebound’, directed by Neeraj Ghaywan, as India’s official entry for the 2026 Academy Awards in the Best International Feature category.

• The movie was selected in the Un Certain Regard category at the Cannes Film Festival and was recently at the Toronto International Film Festival.

• N. Chandra, chairperson of the selection committee, said a total of 24 films from different languages were in contention for representing the country at the Oscars.

• ‘Homebound’, produced by Karan Johar and Adar Poonawalla, stars Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa and Janhvi Kapoor in lead roles.

• The film is inspired by journalist Basharat Peer’s The New York Times article ‘Taking Amrit Home’, also titled (A Friendship, a Pandemic and a Death Beside the Highway).

• The film received warm reviews during its international festival run and has legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese as an executive producer. 

• At Toronto, the film was the second runner-up in the International People’s Choice Award category. 

• ‘Homebound’ also won major awards at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM), including the best film and best director for Ghaywan.

• The 98th Oscars will take place on March 15, 2026. 

• The last Indian film that made it to the final five was the Aamir Khan-led ‘Lagaan’, which released in 2001.

• ‘Mother India’ (1958) and ‘Salaam Bombay!’ (1989) are the other two Indian movies to have made it to the top five.

How India picks its official entry?

• Film Federation of India is authorised to select one film for the consideration of Oscar award in the category of International Feature Film Award (formerly called Best Foreign Language Film Award). 

• Entries are invited and a jury selects one film as India’s official entry for the Academy Awards.

Rules for International Feature Film Award

• An international film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the USA and its territories with a predominantly (more than 50 per cent) non-English dialogue track. Animated and documentary feature films are permitted.

• The country-selected film must be first released in the country of origin no earlier than October 1, 2024, and no later than September 30, 2025, 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 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.

• Each country shall be invited to submit its best film to the Academy. 

• The recording of the original dialogue track as well as the completed picture must be predominantly (more than 50 per cent) in a language or languages other than English.

• Selection of that film shall be made by one approved organisation, jury or committee, of which at least 50 per cent must include artists and/or craftspeople from the field of motion pictures.

• Only one film will be accepted from each country as the official selection. 

How will the voting process be?

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

i) 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 15 movies receiving the highest number of votes shall advance to next round of voting.

ii) All active and life Academy members will be invited to view the 15 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 movies. The five movies receiving the highest number of votes shall become the nominations for final voting for the International Feature Film award.

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

• 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.

Academy members

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a global organisation, representing the best of an international art form, and has members in countries all over the world. Academy membership is limited to film artists working in the production of theatrically-released motion pictures. The Academy has 19 branches, for the crafts ranging from Actors to Writers, and the Members-at-Large category, to accommodate individuals who work in motion picture production but do not fit into one of the branches.