The countdown to the 98th Oscar Awards has begun. This March 15, the Dolby Theater will be dressed up for one of the most cosmopolitan ceremonies in recent years, where international cinema not only competes in its category, but also threatens to win the award for Best Foreign Film.
Who will win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film 2026?
Elle Fanning as Rachel Kemp in SENTIMENTAL VALUE. Nominated for Actress in a Supporting Role at the 98th Oscars.
Watch the #Oscars LIVE on Sunday, March 15th, at 7e/4p on ABC and Hulu. #OnlyAtTheOscars pic.twitter.com/FcaIbfNuSA
– The Academy (@TheAcademy) March 3, 2026
In a season marked by the prominence of foreign films beyond their own category, the race for the Best Foreign Film Oscar is shaping up to be one of the tightest with Norway’s Sentimental Value and Brazil’s O Agente Secreto (The Secret Agent) leading the predictions.
Praised by critics, Sentimental Value directed by Norwegian Joachim Trier, has consolidated its position in the awards season after its passage through festivals and as a winner of awards such as BAFTA or the European Film Awards.
According to the specialized media Gold Derby, she is the favorite in the race.
The film stars Renate Reinsve and Stellan Skarsgård and follows the complicated relationship of Gustav (Skarsgård), an acclaimed film director, who wants his daughter Nora (Reinsve) to star in his next, very personal film, something she refuses to do.
The film explores themes such as absent fatherhood, trauma, family ties and memory, in a reflective narrative, very particular to Trier’s style.
O Agente Secreto, the Latin bet
“The Secret Agent” is a great story divided into little secrets and mysteries that are layered and unraveled through its quirky and authentic characters as they try to survive in Brazil in the late 1970s. The film is very powerful, with a setting… pic.twitter.com/6hSbVAkfow
– R E P L I C A N T (@Roybattyforever) February 23, 2026
Also touching on the theme of memory, but from another perspective, is Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho’s O Agente Secreto, about a father (Wagner Moura) who struggles to reunite with his son and escape the country while being pursued by the repressive machinery of the State.
Set in the context of the dictatorship in Recife in the 1970s, the film is the second favorite of the specialized media, after having already been recognized with awards such as the Golden Globe and the Critics’ Choice Awards.
Both films crossed over into the Best International Film category and are also contenders for the Best Picture Oscar, the top film of the night.
But Trier’s film has 9 nominations in total, while Mendonça Filho’s film has three.
Iran in the spotlight
Revenge is always more attractive than justice, because it offers a false sense of control. It Was Just An Accident is a tremendous parable about revenge as an endless circle of violence, unexpectedly funny, yet devastating, with one of the best… pic.twitter.com/JGRD6SqIDP
– Mario Barreto (@Mariorarara) December 8, 2025
Meanwhile It Was Just an Accident, which is competing for France, although made by Iranian director Jafar Panahi, has gained prominence especially because its subject matter resonates at a time when Iran is engaged in an armed conflict with the United States and Israel that has escalated throughout the region.
The film, which explores themes of revenge and justice, won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes International Film Festival in 2025 and follows the story of a group of former political prisoners in Iran who believe they have found the man who tortured them during their time in prison.
Because Panahi has been persecuted on several occasions by the Iranian government, the film was shot clandestinely in real locations in the country, with a small crew and discreet filming techniques.
The hypnotic Sirat and the devastating The Voice of Hind Rajab
“We wanted to create an immersive cinematic experience to ensure that the film is felt not only heard.” SIRĀT’s Oscar-nominated sound designer Laia Casanovas on creating the sound of God. Now playing in select theaters. pic.twitter.com/yNYom8QM4g
– NEON (@neonrated) March 4, 2026
Spain aims to take home the award for Best Foreign Film 2026 with Oliver Laxe’s Sirat, a film about a father and son who embark on an exhaustive desert trek to find their daughter who disappeared at a rave.
The film, which stands out for its immersiveness and sensory and contemplative exploration, has been acclaimed by critics and welcomed by the industry, but has not yet received any awards, despite having been nominated for some of the most important awards of the season such as the Golden Globes, BAFTA or even the Goya Awards.
Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Voice of Hind completes this category with a devastating account of the struggle for survival of a 5-year-old Palestinian girl caught in the middle of the Gaza conflict.
With real audios, the film creates a mix of drama and documentary that intensifies the emotional impact of the story that follows rescuers as they work to rescue Hind Rajab who is trapped in a car under attack by the Israeli army in January 2024.
The 98th Academy Awards will be held on March 15 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, and Sinners, with 16 nominations, and One Battle After Another, with 13, are the favorites.
Filed under: Best Foreign Film 2026
With information from EFE
