by Nathaniel R
A sizeable portion of Oscar's Best International Feature hopefuls come from debut filmmakers so it feels like we're headed for an "emerging filmmaker" kind of year at the Oscars (and not just in this category). But while the 2020 competition is likely to favor fresh blood statistically, eight countries have submitted directors who've made it to the nomination list already... or almost made it in three of the cases.
They are...
Byambasuren Davaa (Veins of the World for Mongolia)
This 50 year old filmmaker's latest feature is her third submission for Mongolia after Story of the Weeping Camel and Cave of the Yellow Dog. Mongolia doesn't submit every year but she's their most honored director. Though neither of those previous features were nominated in this category Weeping Camel did success in snagging a nomination for Best Documentary Feature so Davaa is already an Oscar-nominated filmmaker.
Agnieszka Holland (Charlatan for Czech Republic)
Previously: Angry Harvest (1985) was the final nominee for West Germany (before reunification) and In Darkness (2011) was a nominee for Poland. She was also Oscar-nominated for writing Europa Europa (1991)
We've previously discussed this 71 year-old Polish auteur's enduring international career and Oscar stats. Though she's Polish she went to film school in Czechoslovakia and considers the Czech New Wave her greatest influence. She's now been submitted four times from three different countries (Germany, Poland twice, and now the Czech Republic)
Andrei Konchalovsky (Dear Comrades! for Russia)
Previously: Paradise (2016) made the finalist list in its year. One of his English language features, Runaway Train (1985) was well liked by Oscar in its year, receiving 3 Oscar nominations: Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Film Editing.
Konchalovsky is a much decorated director who got quite an auspicious entry into cinema working on Andrei Tarkovsky pictures. He's won prizes at Cannes, Venice, and at the Emmys. His most recent previous International Feature submission, Paradise, made the Oscar finalist list in 2016 so it was pretty close to being a nominee. Will this, his third submission, be the charm?
Majid Majidi (Sun Children for Iran)
Previously: Children of Heaven (1998) was Iran's first nomination in the category as well as Majidi's international breakout hit
The 61 year old auteur has been submitted to Oscar six times now: Children of Heaven (1998), The Color of Paradise (1999), Baran (2001), The Song of Sparrows (2008), Muhammad: Messenger of God (2015) and this year for The Sun or Sun Children as it was called at Venice (2020). We previously discussed Iran's history with Oscar here.
Milcho Manchevski (Willow for North Macedonia)
Previously: His debut feature Before the Rain (1994) was Macedonia's first nomination in this category.
The 61 year-old director has been submitted by Macedonia four times now. In addition to his Oscar nominated debuted he was submitted for Shadows (2007) and Mothers (2010).
Gianfranco Rosi (Notturno for Italy)
Previously: Fire at Sea (2016) was submitted by Italy for this category but didn't secure a nomination. It did however secure a nomination for Best Documentary Feature that same competition year.
The acclaimed 57 year old director was born in Eritrea but grew up in Italy and Turkey and made his first feature film in India. He is a dual citizen of Italy and the US. As befitting his international nature his films aren't specifically about Italy but about global problems like the refugee crisis and terrorism.
Fernando Trueba (Forgotten We'll Be for Colombia)
Previously: 1993's Belle Epoque won the Oscar in this category for Spain. He also directed a Best Animated Feature nominee, 2010's Chico & Rita
This 65 year-old director began as a film critic in the 1970s but has been a mainstay of Spanish-language film since the 1980s. This is his 15th film and third Oscar submission in this category (after Belle Epoque in 1993 and The Dancer and the Thief in 2009).
Thomas Vinterberg (Another Round for Denmark)
Previously: The Hunt (2013) was Oscar-nominated in this category.
The 51 year old director has made 13 films thus far. His third film The Celebration (1998) was his international breakthrough but Oscar unwisely snubbed it despite a ton of buzz and accolades. Later his ninth film The Hunt (2013) starring Mads Mikkelsen was Oscar-nominated. Mads and Vinterberg have reunited for this year's Danish submission, Another Round. Will lightning strike twice? It should since Another Round is even better than The Hunt.