Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice” has secured a spot on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ shortlist for best international feature film, positioning South Korea among 15 nations vying for a coveted Oscar nomination.
The Academy announced shortlists across 12 categories on Tuesday, whittling down the international feature race from 86 eligible countries to 15 contenders.
“No Other Choice” arrives at the shortlist following a robust festival circuit run. The film premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival before winning the international audience award at Toronto, where star Lee Byung-hun also received a special contribution honor. Park landed the director prize at Sitges and the Global Impact Award at Newport Beach, with Lee earning the artist of distinction recognition at the same fest.
The film was nominated for three Gotham Awards earlier in December — international feature, adapted screenplay and lead actor for Lee — but left the ceremony empty-handed. The international feature trophy went to Jafar Panahi’s “It Was Just an Accident.”
The shortlist marks a key step toward an Oscar nomination. Academy members across all branches can participate in the next voting round if they watch all 15 shortlisted films. From there, voters will select five nominees for the final ballot.
Separately, Netflix’s “KPop Demon Hunters” landed on the original song shortlist for its track “Golden.” The streamer’s global phenomenon, which has logged over 541 million hours viewed worldwide, qualified for Oscar consideration through a limited theatrical run in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco in June.
Warner Bros.’ “Sinners” and Universal’s “Wicked: For Good” dominated the broader shortlist announcements with eight category mentions apiece. Distributor Neon claimed five of the 15 international feature slots — a record showing.
Nominations voting runs Jan. 12-16, with the final Oscar nominees unveiled Jan. 22. The 98th Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by Conan O’Brien, airs March 15 on ABC.
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