India’s hopeful entry for the 96th Academy Awards, the Malayalam film 2018: Everyone Is A Hero starring Tovino Thomas and Kunchacko Boban, fell short of making it to the final list in the International Feature Film category. Despite being selected by the Film Federation of India as the country’s official submission, it didn’t secure a spot among the 15 shortlisted films announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Among the chosen films from various countries like Ukraine, Germany, and the United Kingdom, India’s entry wasn’t in the finalists. This marks another year of India missing out on an Oscar nomination in this category. The last Indian film to officially secure a nomination was Ashutosh Gowariker’s Lagaan back in 2001.
For the 96th Oscars, 15 films advanced to the next round of voting in the International Feature Film category, selected from a pool of entries from 88 countries and regions. Academy members participated in preliminary voting, adhering to minimum viewing requirements to be eligible. In the nominations round, members across branches must watch all 15 shortlisted films to cast their votes.
The final nominations across all categories are scheduled to be revealed on January 23. The Oscars ceremony, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will take place on March 10 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles and will begin an hour earlier than usual, airing live at 7 p.m. ET.
