Editor’s note: Throughout the Oscar season, IndieWire will update this page with in-depth Oscar predictions from Awards Editor Marcus Jones, Craft Editor Sarah Shachat, and Curation Editor Wilson Chapman. In addition to predictions for each category, listing the ever-changing contenders, we will be reporting on what films have captivated voters, rules changes made by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, interviews with potential nominees, and much more.
Thanksgiving weekend is hardly a break for those vying for awards nominations, as the following week brings forth all sorts of events and voting deadlines. However, in the documentary world, things have long been off to the races, with Netflix film “The Perfect Neighbor” winning both Best Feature and Best Director at the Critics Choice Documentary Awards at the beginning of the month.
But critics are not the same as voters in the Academy’s Documentary branch. Since the first CCDAs in 2016, there have only been two Best Documentary Feature winners that have won the Oscar. The rest of the group’s Best Documentary Feature winners were not even nominated.
Once a darling of the category, with wins for “Icarus” and “American Factory,” Netflix has had trouble earning any Academy Award nominations for Best Documentary Feature since crowdpleaser “My Octopus Teacher” won in 2021, upsetting more highbrow contenders like “The Mole Agent” and “Time.” (Caveat: 2024 contender “To Kill a Tiger” was acquired by the streaming service after it had already been nominated.)
Netflix should have no problem getting “The Perfect Neighbor” and Mark Obenhaus and Laura Poitras’ “Cover-Up” onto the shortlist, but when it comes time for nominations voting, the distributor keeps getting burned by the branch in a glaring way. After all, it is one thing to complain about “Will and Harper” or “American Symphony” which, despite being about several other topics, can still be described as portraits of popular entertainers, but for acclaimed films like “Daughters,” “The Remarkable Life of Ibelin,” and “Descendant” to be snubbed after being so well-received by other peer groups in the documentary world feels pointed.
The Netflix film this year that can break that unfortunate streak seems to be Petra Costa’s “Apocalypse in the Tropics,” a follow-up to her 2019 film “The Edge of Democracy” that, for American audiences at least, conveys just how much the downfall of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro mirrored the aftermath of the 2020 elections in the United States. Recent Best Documentary Feature nominees have already leaned more international, and as a 2024 Venice Film Festival premiere, Costa’s film has had more time to campaign, and to individualize itself from Netflix, to maybe avoid the voter bias.
Ultimately, the Best Documentary Feature shortlist is one of the most unpredictable, but films like “Come See Me in the Good Light,” “The Tale of Silyan,” and “Seeds” have all fared well with all the documentary bellwethers like IDA Documentary Awards, Cinema Eye Honors, and the DOC NYC shortlist.
As for narrative films, there have not been many changes since the Governors Awards. By now, it is accepted that the trend of one Best Picture nominee per studio, with little exceptions, is most likely over. Warner Bros. Pictures is in the best shape to have both “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners” in there (though both films will have a hard fight to get all the acting nominations they want). Netflix and Neon both have “Frankenstein” and “Sentimental Value,” respectively, but the former is stuck figuring out if Hollywood story “Jay Kelly” or critical darling “Train Dreams” is more viable, while the latter is suffering from success, with both Palme d’Or winner “It Was Just an Accident” and “The Secret Agent,” from reigning Best International Feature champ Brazil, making super strong cases for a nomination.
Focus Features could be among this crowd too, as “Hamnet” is one of the main Best Picture frontrunners, especially after collecting a string of Audience Awards at several fall film festivals including TIFF, but the distributor’s other contender “Bugonia” is just too much of a wild card. Yes, the last Yorgos Lanthimos film to be nominated for Best Picture overperformed, but is it maybe too soon for that to happen again? Jesse Plemons is a former Oscar nominee, and Emma Stone is one of the few to win Best Actress twice, but the field for both categories are so stacked that it would not necessarily be an outrage if neither were to be nominated.
Also related to “Bugonia,” the November box office has not been as disastrous as the October box office was for awards contenders, so one of the other recent takeaways is that a later release date may be back in vogue.
After a relatively thin year for major animated releases, November finally introduces a major entry into the Best Animated Feature race with “Zootopia 2.” The Disney feature, a sequel to the 2016 hit, arrives to a small field as one of the biggest contenders right off the bat, based largely on the strength of its Oscar-winning predecessor. But can it repeat the success of the original and take home another trophy for the mouse?
Traditionally, the Academy has been amenable to sequels in the Animated feature category — as long as they’re sequels to “Toy Story,” with both the third and fourth entries into Pixar’s flagship series winning the category. Other follow-up films tend to get nominations but come up short in favor of something newer and shinier, including “Shrek 2,” “Incredibles 2,” “Inside Out 2,” and most recently “Across the Spider-Verse,” which lost to “The Boy and the Heron” in a major surprise during the 2024 ceremony. Still, “Zootopia 2” has a lot going for it, including the breakout success of the original (one of Disney’s highest-grossing properties,) the return of most of its key creative team, and an unrivaled niche as the big kid-friendly release of the Thanksgiving weekend.
Also helping out “Zootopia 2” is that the competition is relatively weak, with only one major obstacle in its way. The bad news is that that obstacle is a massive one. With “KPop Demon Hunters” reigning supreme as the animated film story of the year, the race seems to be between Huntr/x and Judy Hopps for Oscar glory. —Wilson Chapman on 11/19/25
The reaction to “Wicked: For Good” during the week of its premiere hasn’t been particularly great across its Metacritic page or elsewhere on the internet, but maybe that doesn’t matter. Now that we’re into the 4:30 p.m. darkness of late November, it is the time when the craft team must wade through black waves of despair in our souls to distinguish between the front-running films that have so much lavish craft in them they’re kind of critic-proof and the films that might fold under a bad reaction, if one comes — maybe it’s me, I’m the problem, it’s me.
“Wicked: For Good” is still going to walk away with a hefty nominations haul; there’s no way that it won’t. But now that the festivals are wrapped, the bitter winter cold seems to be looking slightly rosier for the crafts of “Frankenstein” and “Sinners.”
The former has gotten pretty good traction on Netflix, with lots of praise rightly being centered on the rich visual worldbuilding; the fact that these aspects of the film are being championed by director Guillermo Del Toro while also trashing AI every chance he gets only adds to the story of how much craft went into the making of “Frankenstein” — craft that is visible on the screen, because it’s not lost in endless shallow-focus medium shots that don’t look like anything at all. Cough. Anyway, “Sinners” is also in a decent spot for a film that came out in April, and the positive reception to the madcap “Marty Supreme” might earn it some nods as well.
But Academy voters may love nothing in the world so well as “Hamnet.” The praise for the Chloé Zhao film has been nigh-universal, and while it’s mostly focused above the line, that kind of acclaim inevitably makes it down to the groundling head of departments who brought the world of the film to life. If its momentum continues at the same pitch after release, it may well end up with default nomination spots in a lot of craft categories. Then again, so may the also nigh-universally-beloved “One Battle After Another.” We shall see which of them stands when the hurly-burly’s done. —Sarah Shachat on 11/19/25
The 98th Oscars telecast will be broadcast on Sunday, March 15 and air live on ABC at 7:00 p.m. ET/ 4:00 p.m. PT. See the full list of predictions below, which will be refreshed throughout the race, and follow IndieWire on X, Instagram, and Facebook for all the latest Oscars news.
Potential nominees are listed in alphabetical order; no film will be deemed a frontrunner until we have seen it. “Time Will Tell” refers to films that have not yet screened for critics and/or are without distribution.
Additional category predictions to be announced.
Frontrunners:
“F1”
“Frankenstein”
“Hamnet”
“Jay Kelly”
“Marty Supreme”
“One Battle After Another”
“Sentimental Value”
“Sinners”
“The Testament of Ann Lee”
“Wicked: For Good”
Contenders:
“Avatar: Fire and Ash”
“Bugonia”
“It Was Just an Accident”
“The Secret Agent”
“Train Dreams”
Long Shots:
“A House of Dynamite”
“Is This Thing On?”
“No Other Choice”
“Rental Family”
“Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere”
In a Perfect World:
“28 Years Later”
“Roofman”
“Weapons”
Frontrunners:
Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another”
Ryan Coogler, “Sinners”
Jafar Panahi, “It Was Just an Accident”
Joachim Trier, “Sentimental Value”
Chloé Zhao, “Hamnet”
Contenders:
James Cameron, “Avatar: Fire and Ash”
Guillermo del Toro, “Frankenstein”
Mona Fastvold, “The Testament of Ann Lee”
Yorgos Lanthimos, “Bugonia”
Josh Safdie, “Marty Supreme”
Long Shots:
Noah Baumbach, “Jay Kelly”
Clint Bentley, “Train Dreams”
Kathryn Bigelow, “A House of Dynamite”
Kleber Mendonça Filho, “The Secret Agent”
Park Chan-wook, “No Other Choice”
In a Perfect World:
Joseph Kosinski, “F1”
Harry Lighton, “Pillion”
Benny Safdie, “The Smashing Machine”
Frontrunners:
Timothée Chalamet, “Marty Supreme”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “One Battle After Another”
Joel Edgerton, “Train Dreams”
Michael B. Jordan, “Sinners”
Wagner Moura, “The Secret Agent”
Contenders:
Will Arnett, “Is This Thing On?”
George Clooney, “Jay Kelly”
Dwayne Johnson, “The Smashing Machine”
Jesse Plemons, “Bugonia”
Jeremy Allen White, “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere”
Long Shots:
Russell Crowe, “Nuremberg”
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Anemone”
Ethan Hawke, “Blue Moon”
Lee Byung-hun, “No Other Choice”
Channing Tatum, “Roofman”
In a Perfect World:
Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, “My Father’s Shadow”
Dylan O’Brien, “Twinless”
Ben Whishaw, “Peter Hujar’s Day”
Frontrunners:
Jessie Buckley, “Hamnet”
Rose Byrne, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”
Cynthia Erivo, “Wicked: For Good”
Chase Infiniti, “One Battle After Another”
Renate Reinsve, “Sentimental Value”
Contenders:
Laura Dern, “Is This Thing On?”
Jennifer Lawrence, “Die, My Love”
Amanda Seyfried, “The Testament of Ann Lee”
Emma Stone, “Bugonia”
Tessa Thompson, “Hedda”
Long Shots:
Kate Hudson, “Song Sung Blue”
Julia Roberts, “After the Hunt”
June Squibb, “Eleanor the Great”
Sydney Sweeney, “Christy”
Eva Victor, “Sorry, Baby”
In a Perfect World:
Jane Levy, “A Little Prayer”
Elizabeth Olsen, “Eternity”
Imogen Poots, “The Chronology of Water”
Frontrunners:
Jacob Elordi, “Frankenstein”
Paul Mescal, “Hamnet”
Sean Penn, “One Battle After Another”
Adam Sandler, “Jay Kelly”
Stellan Skarsgård, “Sentimental Value”
Contenders:
Miles Caton, “Sinners”
Benicio del Toro, “One Battle After Another”
Delroy Lindo, “Sinners”
William H. Macy, “Train Dreams”
Jeremy Strong, “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere”
Long Shots:
Jonathan Bailey, “Wicked: For Good”
Billy Crudup, “Jay Kelly”
Jacobi Jupe, “Hamnet”
Tracy Letts, “A House of Dynamite”
Josh O’Connor, “Wake Up Dead Man”
In a Perfect World:
Aidan Delbis, “Bugonia”
Diego Luna, “Kiss of the Spider Woman”
Lewis Pullman, “The Testament of Ann Lee”
Frontrunners:
Elle Fanning, “Sentimental Value”
Ariana Grande, “Wicked: For Good”
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, “Sentimental Value”
Amy Madigan, “Weapons”
Teyana Taylor, “One Battle After Another”
Contenders:
Odessa A’zion, “Marty Supreme”
Regina Hall, “One Battle After Another”
Nina Hoss, “Hedda”
Jennifer Lopez, “Kiss of the Spider Woman”
Wunmi Mosaku, “Sinners”
Long Shots:
Emily Blunt, “The Smashing Machine”
Glenn Close, “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery”
Zoey Deutch, “Nouvelle Vague”
Gwyneth Paltrow, “Marty Supreme”
Hailee Steinfeld, “Sinners”
In a Perfect World:
Rebecca Ferguson, “A House of Dynamite”
Indya Moore, “Father Mother Sister Brother”
Mari Yamamoto, “Rental Family”
Frontrunners:
Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie (“Marty Supreme”)
Ryan Coogler (“Sinners”)
Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold (“The Testament of Ann Lee”)
Noah Oppenheim (“A House of Dynamite”)
Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt (“Sentimental Value”)
Contenders:
Will Arnett, John Bishop, Mark Chappell, and Bradley Cooper (“Is This Thing On?”)
Noah Baumbach and Emily Mortimer (“Jay Kelly”)
Stephen Blahut and Hikari (“Rental Family”)
Mary Bronstein (“If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”)
Jafar Panahi (“It Was Just an Accident”)
Long Shots:
Zach Cregger (“Weapons”)
Kleber Mendonça Filho (“The Secret Agent”)
Robert Kaplow (“Blue Moon”)
Celine Song (“Materialists”)
Eva Victor (“Sorry, Baby”)
In a Perfect World:
Ari Aster (“Eddington”)
David Koepp (“Black Bag”)
Austin Kolodney (“Dead Man’s Wire”)
Frontrunners:
Paul Thomas Anderson (“One Battle After Another”)
Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar (“Train Dreams”)
Guillermo del Toro (“Frankenstein”)
Will Tracy (“Bugonia”)
Chloé Zhao (“Hamnet”)
Contenders:
Park Chan-wook, Lee Kyoung-mi, Jahye Lee, and Don McKellar (“No Other Choice”)
Scott Cooper (“Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere”)
Nia DaCosta (“Hedda”)
Rian Johnson (“Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery”)
Benny Safdie (“The Smashing Machine”)
Long Shots:
Bill Condon (“Kiss of the Spider Woman”)
Mike Flanagan (“The Life of Chuck”)
Dana Fox and Winnie Holzman (“Wicked: For Good”)
Holly Gent and Vincent Palmo (“Nouvelle Vague”)
James Vanderbilt (“Nuremberg”)
In a Perfect World:
Alice Birch, Lynne Ramsay, and Edna Walsh (“Die My Love”)
Emma Donoghue and Philippa Lowthorpe (“H Is for Hawk”)
Paul Greengrass and Brad Inglesby (“The Lost Bus”)
Frontrunners:
“Arco”
“Elio”
“KPop Demon Hunters”
“Scarlet”
“Zootopia 2”
Contenders:
“Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle”
“In Your Dreams”
“Little Amélie or the Character of Rain”
“Ne Zha 2”
“The Spongebob Movie: Search for Squarepants”
Long Shots:
“A Magnificent Life”
“The Bad Guys 2”
“Dog Man”
“Predator: Killer of Killers”
“The Twits”
In a Perfect World:
“Boys Go to Jupiter”
“Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc”
“Lesbian Space Princess”
Frontrunners:
“Bugonia” — Jennifer Venditti
“Hamnet” — Nina Gold
“Jay Kelly” — Douglas Aibel, Nina Gold
“One Battle After Another” — Cassandra Kulukundis
“Sinners” — Francine Maisler
Contenders:
“The Testament of Ann Lee” — Isabella Odoffin
“Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” — Bret Howe, Mary Vernieu
“Wicked: For Good” — Tiffany Little Canfield and Bernard Telsey
Long Shots:
“Marty Supreme” — Jennifer Venditti
“Sentimental Value” — Avy Kaufman, Yngvill Kolset Haga
In a Perfect World:
“Rental Family” — Kei Kawamura, Yumi Takada
Time Will Tell:
“Avatar: Fire and Ash” — Margery Simkin
Frontrunners:
“Frankenstein” — Dan Laustsen
“Hamnet” — Łukasz Żal
“One Battle After Another” — Michael Bauman
“Sinners” — Autumn Durald Arkapaw
“Train Dreams” —Adolpho Veloso
Contenders:
“F1” — Claudio Miranda
“Marty Supreme” — Darius Khondji
“The Testament of Anne Lee” — William Rexer
Long Shots:
“Bugonia”— Robbie Ryan
“Wicked: For Good” — Alice Brooks
In a Perfect World:
“28 Years Later” — Anthony Dod
Time Will Tell:
“Avatar: Fire and Ash” — Russell Carpenter
Frontrunners:
“Frankenstein” — Kate Hawley
“Hamnet” — Malgosia Turzanska
“Hedda” — Lindsay Pugh
“Sinners”— Ruth E. Carter
“Wicked: For Good” — Paul Tazewell
Contenders:
“One Battle After Another” — Colleen Atwood
“Marty Supreme” — Miyako Bellizzi
“The Testament of Ann Lee” — Małgorzata Karpiuk
Long Shots:
“Bugonia” — Jennifer Johnson
“Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” — Jenny Eagan
In a Perfect World:
“Drop” — Gwen Jeffares Hourie
“Freakier Friday” — Natalie O’Brien
Frontrunners:
“A House of Dynamite” — Kirk Baxter
“Hamnet” — Affonso Gonçalves, Chloé Zhao
“Marty Supreme” — Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie
“One Battle After Another” — Andy Jurgensen
“Sinners” — Michael P. Shawver
Contenders:
“F1” — Stephen Mirrione
“No Other Choice” — Kim Ho-bin, Kim Sang-beom
“The Testament of Ann Lee” — Sofía Subercaseaux
Long Shots:
“Frankenstein” — Evan Schiff
“Sentimental Value” — Olivier Bugge Coutté
In a Perfect World:
“The Long Walk” — Peggy Eghbalian, Mark Yoshikawa
“Freakier Friday” — Eleanor Infante
Time Will Tell:
“Avatar: Fire and Ash”
Frontrunners:
“Frankenstein” — Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel, Cliona Furey
“Sinners” — Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine, Siân Richards, Shunika Terry
“The Smashing Machine” — Felix Fox, Kazu Hiro, Mia Neal
“Weapons” — Jason Collins, Leo Satkovick, Melizah Wheat
“Wicked: For Good” — Laura Blount, Frances Hannon, Sarah Nuth
Contenders:
“28 Years Later” — Flora Moody
“Hamnet” — Nicole Stafford
“Nuremberg” — Jan Sewell
Long Shots:
“One Battle After Another” — Heba Thorisdottir, Arjen Tuiten
“Christy” — Miriam McCarthy
In a Perfect World:
“Together” — Ellie Daniel
Frontrunners:
“Frankenstein” — Tamar Deverell, Shane Vieau
“Hamnet” — Fiona Crombie, Alice Felton
“Wicked: For Good” — Nathan Crowley, Lee Sandales
“Marty Supreme” — Jack Fisk, Adam Willis
“Sinners” — Hannah Bleachler, Monique Champagne
Contenders:
“Hedda” — Cara Brower, Stella Fox
“No Other Choice” — Ryu Seong-hie
“The Testament of Ann Lee” — Sam Bader, Lauren Doss, Mercédesz Nagyvárdi
Long Shots:
“A House of Dynamite” — Jeremy Hindle, David Schlesinger
“Kiss of the Spider Woman” — Scott Chambliss, Andrew Baseman
In a Perfect World:
“28 Years Later” — Carson McColl, Gareth Pugh, Naomi Moore
Time Will Tell:
“Avatar: Fire and Ash” — Dylan Cole, Ben Procter, Vanessa Cole
Frontrunners:
“Hamnet” — Johnnie Burn
“A House of Dynamite” — Paul N.J. Ottosson
“One Battle After Another” — Jose Antonio Garcia, Christopher Scarabosio, Tony Villaflor
“Sinners” — Steve Boeddeker, Benny Burt, David V. Butler, Brandon Proctor, Chris Welcker
“The Testament of Ann Lee” — Andy Neil, Steve Single, Markus Stemler
Contenders:
“F1” — Luke Dunn Gielmuda, Juan Peralta, Gary A. Rizzo
“Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning” — Chris Burdon, Simon Chase, Jonathan Rush, Mark Taylor
“Wicked: For Good” — Jack Dolman, Simon Hayes, John Marquis, Andy Nelson, Nancy Nugent Title
Long Shots:
“Kpop Demon Hunters” — Michael Babcock
“Warfare” — Ben Barker, Howard Bargroff, Glenn Freemantle, Richard Spooner
In a Perfect World:
“The Naked Gun” — Smokey Cloud, Dan Kenyon
Time Will Tell:
“Avatar: Fire and Ash” — Brent Burge, Melanie Graham, Michael Hedges, Gary Summers
Frontrunners:
“F1”
“How to Train Your Dragon”
“Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning”
“Predator: Badlands”
“Superman”
Contenders:
“Frankenstein”
“Tron: Ares”
“Wicked: For Good”
Long Shots:
“Mickey 17”
“Thunderbolts*”
In a Perfect World:
“No Other Choice”
Time Will Tell:
“Avatar: Fire and Ash”
Frontrunners:
“Bugonia” — Jerskin Fendrix
“Frankenstein” — Alexandre Desplat
“Hamnet” — Max Richter
“Sinners” — Ludwig Görranson
“The Testament of Ann Lee” — Daniel Blumberg
Contenders:
“Avatar: Fire and Ash” — Simon Franglen
“F1” — Hans Zimmer
“Wicked: For Good” — John Powell, Stephen Schwartz
Long Shots:
“Hedda” — Hildur Guðnadóttir
“Jay Kelly” — Nicholas Britell
In a Perfect World:
“The Life of Chuck” — The Newton Brothers
Frontrunners:
“Last Time (I Seen the Sun)” — Miles Caton, Ludwig Göransson, and Alice Smith (“Sinners”)
“Golden”— EJAE, IDO, Teddy Park, Mark Sonnenblick, and 24 (“KPop Demon Hunters”)
“I Lied To You”— Ludwig Göransson and Raphael Saadiq (“Sinners”)
“The Girl in the Bubble”— Stephen Schwartz (“Wicked: For Good”)
“Dear Me”— Diane Warren (“Diane Warren: Relentless”)
Contenders:
“Highest 2 Lowest” — Aiyana-Lee and Nicole Daciana Anderson (“Highest 2 Lowest”)
“Clothed by the Sun” — Daniel Blumberg (“The Testament of Ann Lee”)
“Lose My Mind” — Grant Boutin, Doja Cat, Ryan Tedder, Don Toliver, and Hans Zimmer (“F1”)
“Drive” — John Mayer, Ed Sheeran, and Blake Slatkin (“F1”)
“No Place Like Home”— Stephen Schwartz (“Wicked: For Good”)
Long Shots:
“Train Dreams” — Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner (“Train Dreams”)
“Dream As One” — Miley Cyrus, Simon Franglen, Mark Ronson, and Andrew Wyatt (“Avatar: Fire and Ash”)
“Dying To Live” — Tommy English, Billy Idol, Joe Janiak, J. Ralph, and Steve Stevens (“Billy Idol Should Be Dead”)
“As Alive as You Need Me to Be” — Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (“Tron: Ares”)
“Zoo” — Shakira, Ed Sheeran, and Blake Slatkin (“Zootopia 2”)
In a Perfect World:
“Our Love” — Tom Basden (“The Ballad of Wallis Island”)
“Just Keep Watching” — Tate McRae, Tyler Spry, and Ryan Tedder (“F1”)
“Open the Door” — David Byrne and Hayley Williams (“The Twits”)
Frontrunners:
Brazil: “The Secret Agent” (Kleber Mendonça Filho)
France: “It Was Just an Accident” (Jafar Panahi)
Norway: “Sentimental Value” (Joachim Trier)
South Korea: “No Other Choice” (Park Chan-wook)
Tunisia: “The Voice of Hind Rajab” (Kaouther Ben Hania)
Contenders:
Germany: “Sound of Falling” (Mascha Schilinski)
Iraq: “The President’s Cake” (Hasan Hadi)
Spain: “Sirāt” (Óliver Laxe)
Taiwan: “Left-Handed Girl” (Shih-Ching Tsou)
United Kingdom: “My Father’s Shadow” (Akinola Davies Jr.)
Long Shots:
Argentina: “Belén” (Dolores Fonzi)
Jordan: “All That’s Left of You” (Cherien Dabis)
North Macedonia: “The Tale of Silyan” (Tamara Kotevska)
Palestine: “Palestine 36” (Annemarie Jacir)
Ukraine: “2000 Meters to Andriivka” (Mstyslav Chernov)
In a Perfect World:
Iceland: “The Love That Remains” (Hlynur Pálmason)
India: “Homebound” (Neeraj Ghaywan)
Japan: “Kokuho” (Lee Sang-il)
Frontrunners:
“Apocalypse in the Tropics”
“Come See Me in the Good Light”
“The Tale of Silyan”
“Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk”
“Seeds”
Contenders:
“2000 Meters to Adriivka”
“Cover-Up”
“Life After”
“Orwell: 2+2=5”
“The Perfect Neighbor”
Long Shots:
“The Alabama Solution”
“Cutting Through Rocks”
“Deaf President Now!”
“My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 – Last Air in Moscow”
“The Librarians”
In a Perfect World:
“Mistress Dispeller”
“Folktales”
“Predators”
