Every year, the announcement of “India’s official entry for the Oscars” creates the same confusion. Did the Indian government choose the movie? Has the film already been nominated for an Oscar? And why can only one title represent a country with dozens of film industries?
The process is actually split between two different organizations.
In India, the Film Federation of India (FFI) runs the process that selects the country’s official submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. Once that movie is chosen, the FFI’s role largely ends and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences takes over.
For the 99th Academy Awards, that process resulted in Santosh Davakhar’s Marathi film Gondhal being picked from 33 contenders. Understanding how it got there also explains why being called “India’s Oscar entry” is only the beginning of a much harder journey.
First, filmmakers have to enter the FFI race
India does not begin with every movie released during the year automatically under consideration.
The FFI opens an application window and eligible producers submit their films for consideration. For the 2027 Oscars cycle, applications opened on August 4, 2026 and closed on September 7.
This year’s FFI guidelines required submitted films to have a qualifying theatrical release in India between October 1, 2025 and September 30, 2026, including at least seven consecutive days of public exhibition in a commercial cinema. English subtitles were mandatory, and producers had to provide material including the film’s synopsis, cast and crew information, theatrical-release proof and festival history.
The application was not free either. The 2026 entry fee was ₹1.25 lakh plus 18% GST, bringing the total to ₹1.475 lakh.
These applications create the pool from which India’s official entry is eventually selected.
This year, 33 films made it into that pool, covering Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Gujarati, Tamil, Malayalam, Konyak and Nepali cinema, along with one silent film.
A jury watches the films and chooses one
The FFI appoints a jury chairman and film-industry professionals from creative fields to evaluate the submitted movies.
For the 2026 selection, a 14-member jury chaired by Kannada filmmaker P. Sheshadri watched the contenders. Screenings began on September 9, with films gradually eliminated before the jury settled unanimously on Gondhal.
That is an important point whenever arguments erupt over which film “India should have sent.”
The Academy does not sit in Los Angeles and choose India’s representative. Nor does every Indian movie compete against every international film at this stage.
India’s own approved selection committee first reduces its domestic field to one official submission. The Academy’s rules permit only one official selection from each country or region through this route.
There also is not a publicly published mathematical scorecard saying, for example, that acting receives 30 points, direction 20 and international appeal another 20. The eventual choice comes through jury screenings, deliberation and voting.
For Gondhal, Sheshadri said the jury regarded it as the film best suited to represent India internationally.
“India’s official entry” does not mean “Oscar nominee”
This is probably the biggest misconception.
When Gondhal was announced as India’s official submission, it did not receive an Oscar nomination.
It simply gained entry into the Academy’s International Feature Film process.
The Academy first verifies that the submitted movie satisfies its eligibility requirements. For the 99th Oscars, International Feature contenders must meet rules covering matters such as theatrical qualification, production outside the United States and predominantly non-English dialogue.
Eligible films then face two major voting stages.
During preliminary voting, qualified Academy members who participate in the category view the submissions and vote to create a 15-film shortlist. Members participating in the next round must watch all 15 shortlisted films before voting for the five official Oscar nominees.
For the 2027 Oscars, those milestones are already dated:
The 15-film shortlists arrive December 15, 2026, while the five nominees will be announced on January 21, 2027. The 99th Academy Awards take place on March 14.
So Gondhal currently has several hurdles ahead before the word “nominee” applies.
There is now one important exception to the one-film rule
The 2027 Oscars introduced a significant change that makes the process slightly more complicated.
A country can still submit only one official film, but the Academy has created an additional pathway for some non-English-language movies.
Beginning with the 99th Oscars, films that win specified awards at six qualifying international festivals can enter International Feature consideration independently. Those festivals include Berlin, Busan, Cannes, Sundance, Toronto and Venice.
That means another Indian movie can potentially compete in the International Feature race even though it was not India’s FFI-selected submission—provided it earns one of those specific qualifying festival awards.
The distinction is therefore becoming increasingly important:
“India’s official Oscar entry” means the film selected by the FFI. It does not necessarily mean it will be the only Indian film eligible for Oscar consideration, and it definitely does not mean the film has already been nominated.
That also explains why debates around India’s annual choice can become so heated. The FFI decision determines which single film receives the country’s official backing, but after that moment, international visibility, campaigning and ultimately Academy voters become part of an entirely different competition.
Q&A
Who chooses India’s official Oscar entry?
The Film Federation of India appoints a selection jury that screens eligible submissions and chooses the country’s official International Feature Film entry.
Does the Indian government choose the film?
The official selection process is run by the Film Federation of India through an Academy-approved selection committee, rather than the Academy choosing the movie directly.
Is India’s official entry already an Oscar nominee?
No. It must first be accepted as eligible, reach the 15-film shortlist and then finish among the five nominees.
