KOCHI: Lijo Jose Pellissery’s Jallikattu is officially out of the race for the Oscars in the Best International Feature Film category. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences did not include the Malayalam flick when it published the list of final 15 movies on Wednesday.In all, films from 93 countries were nominated to the category. The shortlisted 15 will now be viewed by the Academy members and five of them will make it to the final five of Oscar nominations.
The 15 selected films are Quo Vadis, Aida? (Bosnia & Herzegovina), The Mole Agent (Chile), Charlatan (Czech Republic), Another Round (Denmark), Two of Us (France), La Llorona (Guatemala), Better Days (Hong Kong), Sun Children (Iran), Night of The Kings (Ivory Coast), I’m No Longer Here (Mexico), Hope (Norway), Collective (Romania), Dear Comrades (Russia), A Sun (Taiwan) and The Man Who Sold His Skin (Tunisia). The final phase of voting will be held between March 5 and 9. Five competing films will be announced on March 15. The Oscar Awards will be declared on April 25.Based on the short story ‘Maoist’ by S Hareesh, Jallikattu received wide critical acclaim.