Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Cannes Grand Prix Winner ‘Minotaur’ Lands on Germany’s Oscar International Film Longlist

Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Cannes Competition drama Minotaur, which won the Grand Prix at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, has surfaced as a live contender for the Academy Awards’ Best International Feature Film category. Deadline reports the Russian-language title was named among eleven films on Germany’s longlist for the category, even as observers weigh how eligibility and selection decisions could shape which country ultimately claims the film for Oscar consideration.

Deadline describes Minotaur as a widely discussed international Oscar possibility and highlights its profile after its Cannes win. The outlet also flags a key detail for Oscar politics and eligibility tracking: Minotaur is reportedly the only film on Germany’s longlist that is not in another language or not aligned with Germany’s typical slate composition, underscoring how a single title can complicate national submission narratives.

The Deadline report frames the moment as a “live contender” stage rather than a final Oscar lock, noting that longlists are an early public step in a broader selection process handled by each country’s Oscar committee. In Germany’s case, Deadline reports the longlist included eleven eligible titles, with Minotaur emerging as the most prominent point of contention for those trying to map where the film could land for the Academy’s international submission.

Deadline’s account also places Minotaur within the timeline of international awards campaigning, where festivals and early national selections can influence attention, industry conversations, and distribution conversations ahead of the Academy’s final round of country submissions and subsequent nominations. For studios and sales agents working a title’s path, the value of being named on a longlist is that it keeps the film in the conversation while committees refine what they will ultimately forward.

The question of “which country” becomes central because the Academy’s international feature framework is built around country submissions, not individual filmmakers or festival results alone. Deadline’s framing centers on how Germany’s longlist placement could connect to later committee decisions, even if the film’s creative origins and language do not neatly match a single national submission story.

For audiences, the practical effect is that Minotaur remains visible in a high-profile awards channel as national committees prepare their final choices. If Germany decides to press the film forward, it would place a Cannes Grand Prix winner at the center of Germany’s effort in the Academy’s international category, with knock-on attention for any competing titles also on the longlist.

Deadline’s report leaves the outcome dependent on later selection steps that follow longlists, with the next decisions expected to determine whether Minotaur becomes Germany’s Oscar submission or whether it is ultimately claimed through a different national route. Until that later phase, the film’s status stays in the “contender” range rather than a confirmed nomination path.