The international race for the 99th Academy Awards ( Oscars 2027) is gathering momentum, with several major cinema nations now putting forward films with strong festival and awards credentials. Romania has selected Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord, fresh from its Palme d’Or triumph at Cannes, while Israel is sending Moshe Rosenthal’s Tell Me Everything after its record-breaking Ophir Awards night. South Korea has chosen Lee Chang-dong’s Possible Love, and Chile has entered Manuela Martelli’s The Meltdown, giving the early field a varied mix of established auteurs and acclaimed festival titles.
For Romania, Fjord arrives with one of the strongest festival records among the emerging submissions. Cristian Mungiu won the Palme d’Or at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, his second victory after 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days in 2007. The film also received the Ecumenical Jury Prize and the FIPRESCI Prize, further strengthening its international profile. Starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve, Fjord follows a Romanian couple who relocate to Norway and face scrutiny after their daughter shows signs of possible abuse. For Mungiu, the Cannes success gives Romania’s entry an immediate place in the wider awards conversation.
Israel’s selection arrives with a different but equally notable awards boost. Moshe Rosenthal’s Tell Me Everything won 10 Ophir Awards on September 9, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay, after receiving a record 16 nominations. The Best Picture victory secured its place as Israel’s Oscar submission. The film, which premiered in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, follows 12-year-old Boaz as he discovers a painful secret about his father during the late-1980s HIV crisis. Its personal family story and sweeping domestic awards success make it one of the more closely watched entries from the region.
South Korea, meanwhile, is represented by Possible Love, marking acclaimed filmmaker Lee Chang-dong’s return to feature filmmaking eight years after Burning. The film premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival and stars Jeon Do-yeon, Sul Kyung-gu, Cho Yeo-jeong and Zo In-sung. Its story brings two married couples together through a documentary about laid-off workers, allowing Lee Chang-dong to explore class differences, relationships and emotional strain. Netflix is backing the film internationally, with a global release planned for November 6. The selection also gives South Korea another opportunity to build on the international impact of Parasite, although Possible Love’s eventual Oscar prospects remain undecided.
Chile’s submission adds another Cannes-backed title to the developing race. Manuela Martelli’s The Meltdown, known as El Deshielo in Spanish, premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes before being selected by the Chilean Academy as the country’s Oscar entry. Set in 1992, the film follows a nine-year-old girl staying at her grandparents’ mountain hotel, where the disappearance of a teenage visitor changes her understanding of the adults around her. It follows Martelli’s acclaimed debut Chile, 1976, and continues her exploration of Chile’s recent history through a personal story.
Chile also carries useful Oscar history into this year’s campaign: Sebastián Lelio’s A Fantastic Woman won the country its first Academy Award in the international category in 2018. That precedent gives The Meltdown a notable national context, although each submission begins again on its own merits. For all four films, festival recognition and domestic selection provide visibility, but none guarantees a place on the final shortlist worldwide. The coming months will determine which titles turn early attention into sustained Academy support.
Together, these four selections show how broad the international field is becoming: a Cannes winner, a record Ophir champion, a major Korean auteur’s comeback and a Chilean festival discovery. They are now part of the long road toward the 2027 Oscars, but selection is only the first step. The Academy’s eventual nominees will emerge later, leaving plenty of room for other countries and films to reshape the race.
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