Filmmaker
Lijo
Jose
Pellissery's
Jallikattu,
India's
official
entry
in
the
Best
International
Feature
category
at
the
93rd
Academy
Awards,
is
out
of
the
Oscars
race.
The
Malayalam-language
movie
is
not
part
of
the
shortlist
of
15
features
that
will
be
vying
for
a
spot
in
the
final
five,
the
Academy
of
Motion
Picture
Arts
and
Sciences
(AMPAS)
announced
on
Wednesday.
Thomas
Vinterberg's
Another
Round,
starring
Mads
Mikkelson,
has
made
it
to
shortlist
that
also
include
Andrei
Konchalovsky's
Dear
Comrades!
(Russia),
Agnieszka
Holland's
Charlatan
(Czech
Republic)
and
two
documentaries
-
The
Mole
Agent
from
Chile
and
Collective
from
Romania.
The
other
contenders
are
Quo
Vadis,
Aida?
(Bosnia
and
Herzegovina),
Two
of
Us
(France),
La
Llorona
(Guatemala),
Better
Days
(Hong
Kong),
Sun
Children
(Iran),
Night
of
the
Kings
(Ivory
Coast),
I'm
No
Longer
Here
(Mexico),
Hope
(Norway),
A
Sun
(Taiwan)
and
The
Man
Who
Sold
His
Skin
(Tunisia).
Films
from
93
countries
were
eligible
in
the
category.
In
the
nominations
round,
Academy
members
from
all
branches
are
invited
to
opt-in
to
participate
and
must
view
all
15
shortlisted
films
in
order
to
cast
a
ballot.
The
final
nominations
for
the
Oscars
will
be
announced
on
March
15.
Pellissery's
Jallikattu
is
based
on
the
short
story
Maoist
by
S.
Hareesh
and
stars
Antony
Varghese,
Chemban
Vinod
Jose,
Sabumon
Abdusamad
and
Santhy
Balachandran.
The
film
had
its
premiere
on
September
6,
2019,
at
the
2019
Toronto
International
Film
Festival
and
received
widespread
critical
acclaim.
Pellissery
had
also
won
the
best
director
trophy
at
the
50th
International
Film
Festival
of
India
in
2019.
No
Indian
film
has
ever
won
an
Oscar.
The
last
Indian
film
that
made
it
to
the
final
five
in
the
Best
International
Feature
category
was
Ashutosh
Gowariker's
Lagaan
in
2001
Mother
India
(1958)
and
Salaam
Bombay
(1989)
are
the
other
two
Indian
movies
to
have
made
it
to
the
top
five.
In
2019,
Zoya
Akhtar's
Gully
Boy,
starring
Ranveer
Singh
and
Alia
Bhatt,
was
India's
entry
to
the
Oscars.
The
93rd
Academy
Awards,
which
were
postponed
from
their
usual
February
date
due
to
the
coronavirus
pandemic,
will
be
held
on
April
25.