Ishan Khatter’s Homebound among 15 films shortlisted for Oscars

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the official shortlists for 12 categories of the 98th Academy Awards, a key step toward the final Oscar nominations. The announcement was made from Los Angeles and covers categories including Animated Short Film, Casting, Cinematography, Documentary Feature Film, Documentary Short Film, International Feature Film, Live Action Short Film, Makeup and Hairstyling, Original Score, Original Song, Sound, and Visual Effects.

In the International Feature Film category, 15 films have progressed to the next stage of voting. Among them is the Indian entry ‘Homebound’, starring Ishan Khatter. A total of films from 86 countries and regions were eligible for consideration in this category.

Academy members from all branches were allowed to participate in the preliminary voting round, provided they met the minimum viewing requirements. For the nominations phase, members must opt in and watch all 15 shortlisted films in the category before casting their votes.

Listed alphabetically by country, the shortlisted films are: Belén (Argentina), The Secret Agent (Brazil), It Was Just an Accident (France), Sound of Falling (Germany), Homebound (India), The President’s Cake (Iraq), Kokuho (Japan), All That’s Left of You (Jordan), Sentimental Value (Norway), Palestine 36 (Palestine), No Other Choice (South Korea), Sirat (Spain), Late Shift (Switzerland), Left-Handed Girl (Taiwan), and The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tunisia).

Across all categories, hundreds of eligible films were initially considered and then narrowed down through a preliminary voting process conducted by members of the respective Academy branches. Strict viewing rules were enforced to ensure informed voting. In the next stage, Academy members from across branches will again be invited to opt in and vote on the shortlists, subject to completing mandatory viewing of all shortlisted films in each category.

Check the complete list here