The 2027 Oscars International Feature race is taking shape as Spain and France have announced their official selections, while Vatican City is preparing its first-ever submission to the Academy Awards. Spain has chosen La Bola Negra, directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, while France has selected Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Cannes Grand Prix winner Minotaur. The Vatican will submit Green Lava in the Documentary Short Film category.

La Bola Negra will represent Spain in the International Feature Film category after premiering in Competition at Cannes, where Calvo and Ambrossi shared the Best Director prize. The film stars Guitarricadelafuente, Miguel Bernardeau, Carlos González, Milo Quifes and Lola Dueñas, with Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close appearing in supporting roles. Its story connects three men across different eras through sexuality, desire, pain and inheritance, with its title drawn from an unfinished work by Federico García Lorca.

France has selected Minotaur, Zvyagintsev’s Russian-language drama that won the Grand Prix at Cannes 2026. The film follows Gleb, a successful businessman whose life begins to collapse as he faces pressure to provide employees for military service while discovering that his wife is having an affair. Produced by French companies CG Cinéma and MK Productions with German and Latvian involvement, Minotaur will be released in French cinemas on October 14.

The choice is particularly notable because Zvyagintsev is a Russian filmmaker living outside the country, while Minotaur is predominantly Russian-language. France’s selection committee chose the film from a five-title shortlist that also included De Gaulle, The Unknown, La Gradiva and Iron Boy.

The Vatican is entering the Academy Awards for the first time with Green Lava, a 39-minute documentary short directed by Lia Beltrami and Ali Aksu. The film follows Giacomo Mattivi, an Italian man living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy as he copes with the death of his brother Mattia. Produced by Beltrami’s Emotions to Generate Change alongside Vatican News, Radio Vaticana and Vatican Media, the documentary will compete in the Documentary Short Film category rather than the International Feature Film race.

The films join an increasingly formidable international field for the 2027 Oscars, with notable selections already including South Korea’s Lee Chang-dong-directed Possible Love, Japan’s Ryûsuke Hamaguchi-directed All of a Sudden, Germany’s Cannes Un Certain Regard Grand Prix winner Everytime, Belgium’s Cannes Best Actor winner Coward, Austria’s Rose, and Nepal’s Cannes Un Certain Regard Jury Prize winner Elephants in the Fog, among many others.

India has now also entered the race with Santosh Davakhar’s Marathi thriller Gondhal, which was selected from 33 submissions and draws its story from the traditional Gondhal ritual of Maharashtra.

The 99th Academy Awards will take place on March 14, 2027, with the International Feature Film shortlist scheduled for December 15 and nominations to be announced on January 21.