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Foreign Language Oscar Submissions Are 23 Percent Women-Directed

"I Am Not a Witch"

Eighty-seven countries have submitted films for consideration for the upcoming 91st edition of the Oscars, and according to our count, 20 titles in the running, or 23 percent, are women-directed or co-directed. Nominations won’t be announced until January 22, 2019.

Among the features in the race are Rungano Nyoni’s “I Am Not a Witch,” a satire about a girl accused of witchcraft, Nadine Labaki’s “Capernaum,” a portrait of a boy who sues his parents for bringing him into a world full of suffering, and “Birds of Passage,” a drama following an indigenous family involved in drug trafficking in Colombia co-directed by Cristina Gallego.

Women helmed and co-helmed titles accounted for 27 percent of submissions in the foreign language category last year. Ildikó Enyedi’s slaughterhouse romance “On Body and Soul” was the only one to receive a nod. The year prior to that, women directed or co-directed 15 percent of the films in the race, and Maren Ade’s father-daughter dramedy “Toni Erdmann” scored a nomination.

The Oscars will take place February 24.

Check out the women-directed films in the running for the foreign language category below. List adapted from the Academy’s press release.


Algeria, “Until the End of Time,” Yasmine Chouikh, director;

Austria, “The Waldheim Waltz,” Ruth Beckermann, director;

Belarus, “Crystal Swan,” Darya Zhuk, director;

Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Never Leave Me,” Aida Begić, director;

Canada, “Family Ties,” Sophie Dupuis, director;

Colombia, “Birds of Passage,” Cristina Gallego, Ciro Guerra, directors;

Costa Rica, “Medea,” Alexandra Latishev, director;

Estonia, “Take It or Leave It,” Liina Trishkina-Vanhatalo, director;

Greece, “Polyxeni,” Dora Masklavanou, director;

India, “Village Rockstars,” Rima Das, director;

Indonesia, “Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts,” Mouly Surya, director;

Kosovo, “The Marriage,” Blerta Zeqiri, director;

Lebanon, “Capernaum,” Nadine Labaki, director;

New Zealand, “Yellow Is Forbidden,” Pietra Brettkelly, director;

Niger, “The Wedding Ring,” Rahmatou Keïta, director;

Norway, “What Will People Say,” Iram Haq, director;

Thailand, “Malila The Farewell Flower,” Anucha Boonyawatana, director;

Tunisia, “Beauty and the Dogs,” Kaouther Ben Hania, director;

United Kingdom, “I Am Not a Witch,” Rungano Nyoni, director;

Vietnam, “The Tailor,” Buu Loc Tran, Kay Nguyen, directors;


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