🎬 “Minotaure” Represents France at the 2027 Oscars
France has selected “Minotaure”, directed by Russian filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev, to represent the country in the 2027 Academy Awards in the International Feature Film category.
The selection was made by an independent French committee chaired by film historian and critic Charles Tesson, with members who have previous experience working on Oscar campaigns.
The decision gives “Minotaure” a new chapter in its international journey after attracting major attention at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Grand Prix.
🏆 From Cannes to the Oscars Race
“Minotaure” was selected following its participation in the official competition at the 79th Cannes Film Festival, where it received the Grand Prix, one of the festival’s major awards.
The Cannes recognition now forms an important part of the film’s journey as it moves into the Oscar selection process as France’s official International Feature Film submission.
The 99th Academy Awards are scheduled for March 14, 2027, in Los Angeles, with the submitted films moving through the Academy’s established selection and voting stages.
🎭 Andrey Zvyagintsev Returns With a New Film
“Minotaure” is written and directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev, with additional screenplay credits for Simon Lyashenko.
The film marks Zvyagintsev’s latest feature after an international career that includes acclaimed films such as “Leviathan” and “Loveless.”
“Minotaure” has a runtime of approximately 140 minutes and is a co-production between France, Latvia and Germany, while the film is in the Russian language.
🌍 The Story of “Minotaure” Unfolds in Russia
The film is set in Russia in 2022 and follows Gleb, a successful businessman who lives with his wife Galina and their son in a provincial city.
As his professional problems continue to grow and the world around him becomes increasingly unstable, the carefully constructed life Gleb has built begins to collapse.
According to the official Cannes synopsis, that collapse quickly moves toward violence, placing the central character in an increasingly dangerous situation.
🔥 Professional Crises and Personal Conflict
“Minotaure” focuses on several pressures surrounding Gleb as his professional difficulties become intertwined with the instability around him and problems within his personal life.
The official synopsis describes the collapse of a carefully constructed life and its rapid progression into violence.
This gives the film a tense dramatic structure in which the protagonist is not dealing with a single isolated problem, but with a series of developments that gradually push his life toward a critical point.
🎥 The Cast of “Minotaure”
The film stars Dmitriy Mazurov as Gleb and Iris Lebedeva as Galina, alongside Boris Kudrin, Yuriy Zavalnyouk, Varvara Shmykova, Vladimir Friedman, Anatoliy Beliy and Anastasia Mischenko, among other performers.
The cast brings together a group of performers from the latest project by Zvyagintsev, with Gleb serving as the central character around whom the story develops.
🇫🇷 Why Does France Submit a Russian-Language Film?
Although “Minotaure” is in Russian, official Cannes and French cinema sources identify it as a production involving France, Latvia and Germany, with France selecting the film as its International Feature Film submission.
The decision follows the eligibility framework for the International Feature Film category. For the 2027 Oscars, the Academy has also introduced an additional qualification route involving certain awards at designated international film festivals.
📅 “Minotaure” Release Date
“Minotaure” is scheduled to open in French cinemas on October 14, 2026, following its Cannes premiere and Grand Prix victory.
The theatrical release gives the film another opportunity to reach audiences ahead of the later stages of the 2027 awards season.
🌟 From “Leviathan” and “Loveless” to “Minotaure”
The selection of “Minotaure” also adds another chapter to Andrey Zvyagintsev’s international career.
His earlier film “Leviathan” won the Best Screenplay award at Cannes and received an Oscar nomination, while “Loveless” won the Jury Prize at Cannes and also received an Oscar nomination in the former Foreign Language Film category.
With “Minotaure,” the filmmaker returns to the international awards scene with another drama centered on personal, social and psychological tensions.
🏆 What Comes Next for “Minotaure”?
Being selected as France’s official submission does not automatically mean that “Minotaure” will receive a final Oscar nomination.
The film must now go through the Academy’s selection process for the International Feature Film category, including the preliminary voting stage and the shortlist before the final nominations are announced.
The Academy’s 2027 schedule places the shortlist and final nominations in the months leading up to the March 14, 2027 ceremony.
“Minotaure” therefore enters a new stage after moving from Cannes competition to officially representing France in the Oscars race.
✨ A New Chapter for Andrey Zvyagintsev’s “Minotaure”
The selection of “Minotaure” marks another major step in the film’s international journey, especially after its Grand Prix win at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.
With a story centered on a successful businessman facing mounting professional and personal pressures, the film explores the collapse of a carefully built life in an increasingly unstable environment.
Ultimately, “Minotaure” now enters the 2027 Oscars International Feature Film race as France’s official submission, with the next stages set to determine how far the film progresses.
What attracts you most to “Minotaure”: its story or its Grand Prix win at Cannes? 🎬💬
