\n\tAfter countless misfires and successive rejigging of its committee, France came close to winning its first Oscar for best international feature in over three decades with Jacques Audiard\u2019s \u201cEmilia Perez.\u201d But in a last-minute twist worthy of a movie, \u201cEmilia Perez\u2019s\u201d chances of winning the statuette evaporated following the scandal surrounding Karla Sofia Gascon\u2019s offensive tweets. Ultimately, nothing could stop Brazil from winning Walter Salles\u2019 heartfelt family saga \u201cI\u2019m Still Here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tFrance\u2019s misfortunes in this category has often been blamed, among other things, on the abundance of French films to choose from, hence the large margin of error. And it appears that France will once again face an embarrassment of riches and some heated discussions within its selection board. <\/p>\n
\n\tAt this point, no films have been submitted for consideration, but the most likely candidate and probable frontrunner is \u201cNouvelle Vague<\/a>,\u201d Richard Linklater\u2019s homage to Jean-Luc Godard\u2019s cult 1960 movie \u201cBreathless\u201d which was acquired by Netflix at Cannes, followed by Rebecca Zlotowski\u2019s \u201cVie Priv\u00e9e\u201d starring Jodie Foster and bought by Sony Pictures Classics. Jafar Panahi\u2019s Palme d\u2019Or winning \u201cIt Was Just an Accident,\u201d acquired by Neon, will also probably be in the mix as it was mainly produced in France. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cNouvelle Vague\u201d didn\u2019t win a prize at Cannes but it earned a rousing standing ovation, enraptured response<\/a> from festivalgoers \u2014 including Quentin Tarantino who was visibly moved by the film \u2014 and unanimous praise by critics, especially American ones with Variety\u2018s Owen Gleiberman<\/a> calling it an \u201cenchanting ode to the rapture of cinema.\u201d <\/a>In a similar way as Michel Hazanavacius\u2019 black-and-while \u201cThe Artist\u201d was seen as a French love letter to Hollywood and struck a chord in the U.S. where it won an impressive five Oscars, \u201cNouvelle Vague\u201d is an American director\u2019s love letter to French cinema, and more precisely that New Wave era which spanned late 1950\u2019s and 1960\u2019s with helmers such as Godard, Francois Truffaut, Eric Rohmer, Claude Chabrol and Agnes Varda, among others, inspiring some of the greatest American filmmakers of the New Hollywood age and beyond, from Martin Scorsese to Brian de Palma and Tarantino.<\/p>\n \n\tDespite some speculations at Cannes, \u201cNouvelle Vague\u201d is eligible to be selected by France\u2019s Oscar committee since it was shot mostly in French \u2014 the AMPAS rule calls for international feature films to have a \u201cpredominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tLinklater\u2019s American nationality doesn\u2019t factor in, because the film was backed by a local artistic and production team; a decisive eligibility criteria under the current AMPAS guidelines which states that the \u201ccreative control of the film\u201d has to be \u201clargely in the hands of citizens, residents, or individuals with refugee or asylum status in the submitting country.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cNouvelle Vague\u201d was indeed produced by Laurent P\u00e9tin at Mich\u00e8le Halberstadt at Paris-based ARP Selection, while Halberstadt and Laetitia Masson are also credited as co-screenwriters (for the adaptation), alongside Holly Gent and Vincent Palmo Jr. The cast is also mostly French with the exception of Zoey Deutch who stars as French New Wave darling\u00a0Jean Seberg. <\/p>\n \n\tThe only hurdle is that \u201cNouvelle Vague\u201d has an Oct. 10 release date which is past the Sept. 30 deadline that the AMPAS has set for local theatrical releases. But ARP Selection, which is also a prominent distribution company in France, could work things out by either moving the launch date or doing a simple technical release before Sept. 30. It remains to be seen how much campaigning efforts and resources Netflix will be willing to dedicate after splurging \u2014 in vain \u2014 for \u201cEmilia Perez;\u201d and whether the streamer will position \u201cNouvelle Vague\u201d in main categories such as best picture, director and actress for Deutch.<\/p>\n \n\tIt would certainly be ironic \u2014 and hard to swallow for some \u2014 to finally see an American filmmaker score France\u2019s first international feature film Oscar after more than 30 years (the last one dates back to 1993 with Regis Wargnier with \u201cIndochine\u201d).<\/p>\n \n\tZlotowski\u2019s latest film, \u201cVie Priv\u00e9e<\/a>\u201d could also be submitted if its distributor Ad Vitam moves up its release date which is currently set for Nov. 26. The humor-laced psychological thriller stars Foster as a therapist investigating on the suicide of a patient, convinced she was actually murdered. The French star-studded movie earned mostly positive reviews at Cannes where it played out of competition. Besides the film\u2019s upscale profile and pedigree of Sony Pictures Classics as a top Oscar campaigner, another factor that could play in favor of \u201cVie Priv\u00e9e\u201d is Zlotowski\u2019s solid reputation in France (including from her peers) where she received this year\u2019s French Cinema Award.<\/a> <\/p>\n \n\tPanahi\u2019s Palme d\u2019Or \u201cIt Was Just an Accident\u201d is another potential contender even though it\u2019s an Iranian film shot in Persian. Like last year\u2019s \u201cAll We Image as Light,\u201d directed by Payal Kapadia, was shortlisted by France\u2019s Oscar committee because it was produced in France, \u201cIt Was Just an Accident\u201d is eligible to represent France at the Oscars because Panahi produced it with the French company Les Films Pell\u00e9as and co-producers in Luxembourg (which could also submit the film as their official Oscar entry).\u00a0Panahi\u2019s first film since being released from prison in Iran, \u201cIt Was Just an Accident\u201d centers around a group of former prisoners and their torturous guard. Neon will campaign for Panahi\u2019s movie, along with other foreign-language films it bought at Cannes and earlier, such as Joachim Trier\u2019s \u201cSentimental Value\u201d which will almost certainly represent Norway, Oliver Laxe\u2019s \u201cSir\u00e2t,\u201d a potential Spanish candidate and Kleber Mendon\u00e7a Filho\u2018s \u201cThe Secret Agent\u201d which might be chosen by Brazil. <\/p>\n \n\tThe Venice Film Festival could also launch some buzzed about French films that could enter the international feature film race, notably Alice Winocour\u2019s \u201cCoutures\u201d starring Angelina Jolie and set in Paris during the fashion week. The latter, represented internationally by Hanway, shot mostly in French and is produced by Charles Gillibert at CG Cinema, but it has extensive English dialogue. \u201cCoutures\u201d also doesn\u2019t yet have a U.S. distributor but might land one before or at Venice if it opens there. <\/p>\n