French Oscars Committee Readjusts After Anatomy of a Fall Mishap

The National Center of Cinema announces a change in the commission responsible for selecting the Oscar for best international film.

How to make the miss ofAnatomy of a Fall does not happen again? The film of Justine TrietPalme d'Or at Cannes in 2023, would certainly have won Oscar for Best Foreign Language Filmif his name had been submitted by France. However, the selection committee had preferred him Dodin BouffantA choice that had caused a lot of talk and today, the CNC announced that it had made a change to the commission responsible for selecting the Oscar for best international film.

On its website, it can be read that the commission will now be composed of eleven members and five substitutes, against seven currently, “in order to promote collegiality of debates, diversity of points of view and the secret nature of each member's vote.” A president will be appointed from among these eleven members to decide in the event of a tie. The members, always appointed by the Minister of Culture on the proposal of the President of the CNC, will be, in their entirety, qualified personalities in the field of cinema and half will be directly artists or technicians of cinema.

Furthermore, this commission will now be appointed for a two-year term, instead of just one year at present.

Finally, the president of the CNC will no longer attend sessions as an observer.

CNC Director General and Interim President Olivier Henrard explains these adjustments as follows: “These three amendments will help to strengthen the independence of the commission, both from public authorities and from professional interests.”

Films that wish to represent France at the Oscars 2025 must formally submit their application before July 15. In September, an initial list of 3 to 5 films will be established. Then the final choice of the French representative will be decided before the end of the year.