Germany selects ‘Everytime’ as its entry for international film Oscar

Germany has selected Austrian director Sandra Wollner’s “Everytime” as its entry for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.

German Films, the organization responsible for promoting German cinema abroad, made the announcement on Tuesday. Films do not need to have a German director to qualify, but must have been largely produced in Germany.

“Everytime” follows Ella and her younger daughter Melli as they struggle to cope with everyday life a year after the sudden death of Ella’s older daughter Jessie. A trip to Tenerife with Jessie’s boyfriend Lux brings suppressed emotions and memories back to the surface.

The film stars Birgit Minichmayr, Carla Hüttermann and Tristán López.

“Everytime” premiered in May at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the top prize in the Un Certain Regard section.

“In ‘Everytime,’ director and writer Sandra Wollner achieves the remarkable feat of making grief tangible as a world thrown into disarray through purely cinematic means and with a surprising lightness of touch,” the German selection jury said.

Germany has won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film four times, most recently in 2023 with Edward Berger’s anti-war drama “All Quiet on the Western Front.”

Norway’s “Sentimental Value,” directed by Joachim Trier, won the category last year.