2024 Oscar Awards Best International Film. Japan and Bhutan's Entries Have Been Shortlisted

The 96th Academy Awards, also known as Oscar Awards, announced on December 22, 2023, the shortlists in 10 categories: Documentary Feature Film, International Feature Film, Makeup and Hairstyling, Music (Original Score), Documentary Short Film, Music (Original Song), Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film, Sound, and Visual Effects.

However, the final nominees will be announced on January 23, 2024, while the ceremony will be held on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theater at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles, California, and will be broadcast live on ABC, in over 200 regions around the world.

For the Best International Film category, only Japan and Bhutan from Asia made it to the cut of the shortlisted films. The following are the shortlisted films, out of these films, five will be chosen as final nominees:

Amerikatsi from Armenia
The Monk and the Gun from Bhutan
The Promised Land from Denmark
Fallen Leaves from Finland
The Taste of Things from France
The Teachers’ Lounge from Germany
Godland from Iceland
Io Capitano from Italy
Perfect Days from Japan
Totem from Mexico
The Mother of All Lies from Morocco
Society of the Snow from Spain
Four Daughters from Tunisia
20 Days in Mariupol from Ukraine
The Zone of Interest from the United Kingdom

German filmmaker, Wim Wenders, and Japanese veteran actor, Koji Yakusho, team up for Perfect Days

Japanese veteran actor, Koji Yakusho, won Best Actor at the 2023 Cannes International Film Festival for his role as a toilet cleaner in Perfect Days.

Asian Films Submissions to the 96th Academy Awards (2024 Oscar Awards)

The following films are the entries of Asian countries to the 96th Academy Awards. Only Japan and Bhutan made it to the cut of shortlisted films eligible for the final nomination.

1. Bhutan - The Monk and The Gun written, directed, and co-produced by Pawo Choyning Dorji. Starring Tandin Wangchuk, Deki Lhamo, Pema Zangmo Sherpa, Tandin Sonam, Harry Einhorn, Choeying Jatsho, Tandin Phubz, Yuphel Lhendup Selden and Kelsang Choejay.

Set in 2006, when the Kingdom of Bhutan began its transition to democracy. Government officials organize a mock election as a training exercise. In the town of Ura, an old lama orders a monk to get a pair of weapons to face the imminent change in the kingdom. Meanwhile, an American antique weapons collector lands in Bhutan in search of a valuable rifle that falls into the monk's hands. Update: Shortlisted

2. China - The Wandering Earth 2 directed by Guo Fan. It's a science-fiction film starring Hong Kong actor Andy Lau, and Chinese veteran actors Wu Jing and Liu Xuejian. It is a sequel to the 2019 blockbuster film, The Wandering Earth. Based on the novel written by Liu Cixin. Update: Was not shortlisted

2. Hong Kong - A Light Never Goes Out directed by Anastasia Tsang (her directorial debut). It follows Mei-heung (Sylvia Chang) who decides to carry the unfinished dream of her deceased husband of making neon signs. Update: Disqualified

3. India - 2018; Everyone is a Hero directed by Jude Anthany Joseph. It's a survival film based on the severe 2018 Kerala floods that affected the south Indian state of Kerala. Update: Was not shortlisted

4. Indonesia - Autobiography directed by Makbul Mubarak (his directorial debut). It's a thriller drama that follows a housekeeper's story who serves as an assistant to a retired general. Update: Was not shortlisted

5. Japan - Perfect Days directed by Wim Wenders. It follows the story of a toilet cleaner in Tokyo who has a fondness for trees, he often photographs them. More of his past is gradually revealed through a series of unexpected encounters. Update: Shortlisted

6. Malaysia - Tiger Stripes directed by Amanda Nell Eu (her directorial debut). It's a body horror movie that follows Zaffan, an 11-year-old girl who starts to experience physical changes to her body when she is going through puberty. Update: Was not shortlisted

7. Philippines - The Missing (Iti Mapukpukaw) directed by Carl Joseph Papa. It is a Philippine-Thai adult animated science fiction film starring Carlo Aquino, Gio Gahol, and Dolly de Leon. Update: Was not shortlisted

8. Singapore - The Breaking Ice directed by Anthony Chen. It is a 2023 Chinese-Singaporean romantic film starring Zhou Dongyu, Liu Haoran, and Qu Chuxiao. The story follows three young people who form a friendship as they spend time touring Yanji, a border city in northern China, over a weekend in the winter snow. Update: Was not shortlisted

9. South Korea - Concrete Utopia directed by Um Tae-wa. It is a 2023 disaster-thriller film starring Lee Byung-hun, Park Seo-joon, and Park Bo-young. The story tells about an earthquake and its aftermath. Update: Was not shortlisted

10. Taiwan - Marry My Dead Body directed by Cheng Wei-hao. It's a supernatural comedy/mystery film starring Greg Hsu, Austin Lin, and Gingle Wang. The story humorously combines the traditional Chinese custom of ghost marriage with a police story, as well as a romance between a human and a ghost. Update: Was not shortlisted

11. Thailand - Not Friends directed by Atta Hemwadee in his directorial debut. It is a coming-of-age comedy-drama film starring Thitiya Jirapornsilp, Pisitphon Ekphongpisit, Anthony Buizeret, Tanakorn Tiyanont, and Natticha Chantaravareelekha. Update: Was not shortlisted

12. Vietnam - Glorious Ashes directed by Bùi Thạc Chuyên. The story is set in the poor Mekong Delta coastal village of Thom Rom, the film follows the lives of three women, whose love lives are unusual and unique to their nature. Update: Was not shortlisted