Former Lionsgate film co-chief Patrick Wachsberger has been named as one of the members of the selection committee that will decide the French entry for the Best International Film Oscar category this year.
He will be joined by international sales veterans Sabine Chemaly and Tanja Meissner, producer Charles Gillibert, directors Mounia Meddour and Olivier Assayas and composer Alexandre Desplat.
France has overhauled the composition of its Oscar entry selection committee twice in recent years to include more film industry professionals in a bid to improve its chances in the Best International Picture race.
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The country last won the international film category with Régis Wargnier’s Indochine in 1993. Ladj Ly’s 2019 Cannes Jury Prize winner Les Misérables was the last French film to make it through to the final nomination stage for the 2020 awards, while Alice Diop’s Saint Omer made it onto the long list for the 2023 edition.
This year’s selection committee brings in a wealth of awards season experience.
Wachsberger shared the Coda Best Film Oscar win with producers Philippe Rousselet and Fabrice Gianfermi in 2022, while Gillibert has participated in the awards season in the past with films such as Mustang and Annette.
Former Newen Connect (ex-TF1 Studio) film sales head Chemaly handled sales on France’s 2019 Oscars entry Memoir Of War.
The committee is nominated by French Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak on the basis of suggestions made by Dominique Boutonnat, President of the National Cinema Centre (CNC) which oversees the selection process.
Boutonnat and newly-appointed Unifrance President Gilles Pélisson will sit in on the discussions as observers.
A first meeting on September 13 will pre-select three to five films. The producers and sales agents of these films will then be auditioned by the selection committee on September 21, after which its choice will be announced.
For cases where the pre-selected films already have a U.S. distributor attached, they will also join the discussion virtually by video link.
The Oscar submission deadline is October 2 this year. Submissions for the French selection process closed on July 31.
The 96th Academy Awards will take place on March 10, 2024.
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