'Alcarràs' out of Oscars race after not being shortlisted in international category

Catalan movie 'Alcarràs' will not compete for the Oscars after not being shortlisted in the Best International Feature Film category for the 2023 awards. 

On Wednesday night, The Academy released the shortlist of the competing movies to win the golden statuette of the 95th edition, which includes Argentina's 'Argentina, 1985'; Austria's 'Corsage;' Belgium's 'Close;' Cambodia's 'Return to Seoul;' Denmark's 'Holy Spider;' and France's 'Saint Omer,' among others.

'Alcarràs' was one of the 92 movies submitted to the competition. In September, Spain chose Carla Simón's second movie as its entry for this year's edition.

The movie has already been accoladed with the Berlinale Golden Bear in February, becoming the first Catalan film to win such an award. It is currently also nominated for several Gaudí and Goya Awards, including Best Picture in both competitions.

'Alcarràs' is the third ever Catalan-language film to be selected as Spain's submission for the Academy Awards after 2010's 'Pa Negre,' directed by Agustí Villaronga. The second was 'Estiu 1993' (Summer 1993), Simón's first movie.

The film arrived in cinemas in the spring and very quickly became the biggest Spanish box office hit of the year, selling 300,000 tickets in its first month, and taking in €1 million in theatres not even two weeks after its commercial release.

After picking up the Golden Bear award in Berlin, the achievement was dubbed a "historic turning point" for Catalan cinema by those working in the industry. 

The movie is a tribute to rural life, family farms, and respectful agriculture. It tells the story of the last fruit harvest that a family goes through on their farm where they have cultivated peaches for generations before they must leave the land after the owners decide to install solar panels. 

Much of the film takes place at the family home surrounded by the fields where they work. Here, we see the family gradually come to grips with their new reality.

'Alcarràs' is Carla Simón's second film, after 'Estiu 1993' (Summer 1993) – in both productions, her personal story is obvious.

Have a listen to our Filling the Sink podcast in order to get an in-depth analysis of the movie, its director and the current situation of Catalan cinema.