France Picks ‘Minotaur’ for the 2027 International Oscar Race

France has selected Andrey Zvyagintsev’s political drama Minotaur as its entry for Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards. The decision puts a Cannes prizewinner at the center of France’s latest campaign for a category it has not won since Indochine in 1993.

A Cannes winner advances

The Russian-language film premiered at Cannes, where it won the Grand Prix, before taking best film at the Sydney Film Festival. Its festival run is set to continue in San Sebastián, while Mubi plans a U.S. theatrical release on November 20, 2026.

Set in a provincial Russian city in 2022, the story follows businessmen confronting the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as workers are drafted and companies face pressure to support the war effort. Dmitriy Mazurov plays Gleb, a successful company director whose controlled life also begins to fracture over suspicions about his wife, played by Iris Lebedeva.

Minotaur marks Zvyagintsev’s first feature since Loveless, which won the Cannes Jury Prize in 2017 and later earned an Oscar nomination. The filmmaker lives in exile in France, and the new movie was produced as a French-German-Latvian co-production led by CG Cinéma, MK Productions and Forma Pro Films.

France’s awards strategy

The film prevailed over four other finalists: De Gaulle: Tilting Iron, Iron Boy, La Gradiva and The Unknown. France’s Oscar committee made the choice after hearing from the teams behind the shortlisted titles, including producers, sales companies and U.S. distributors.

The selection also extends a recent pattern of France backing internationally oriented, non-French-language productions. Last year, the country submitted Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident, another Cannes winner directed by a filmmaker working outside his home country.

The next milestones are already fixed: the Academy is scheduled to announce a 15-film international shortlist on December 15, followed by nominations on January 21. The 99th Academy Awards are set for March 14, 2027. Selection by France secures Minotaur a place in the race, not a nomination.