France Selects 'Emilia Perez' for 2025 Oscars: A Groundbreaking Queer Crime Musical

France has nominated Jacques Audiard's 'Emilia Perez' for the 2025 Academy Awards' Best International Feature category. Featuring a star-studded cast, the film tells the story of a Mexican drug lord seeking gender-affirming surgery. It premiered at Cannes, winning multiple awards.

France has officially selected Jacques Audiard's groundbreaking queer crime musical, 'Emilia Perez,' as its contender for the Best International Feature category at the 2025 Academy Awards. The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed this exciting development.

The film boasts a dynamic cast including Zoe Saldana, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, and Spanish actress Karla Sofia Gascon. 'Emilia Perez' centers on a compelling narrative about a Mexican drug lord, played by Gascon, who enlists the help of a lawyer, portrayed by Saldana, to undergo gender-affirming surgery.

The genre-blending film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it received significant acclaim, clinching the Jury Prize and a shared Best Actress award for its ensemble cast. Director Jacques Audiard, who was previously nominated for an Oscar for his 2009 film 'A Prophet,' is no stranger to the Academy.

His illustrious filmography includes titles such as 'Rust and Bone' (2012), 'The Sisters Brothers' (2018), and 'Dheepan' (2015). Despite France's storied past in the Best International Feature category with 12 wins, the country has not secured the Oscar since 1992, when Regis Wargnier's 'Indochine' triumphed.

In recent years, France has struggled to land nominations, with 'The Taste of Things' and 'Titane' failing to make the final cut. The Hollywood Reporter notes that the Oscar selection committee in France has faced heightened scrutiny, particularly after choosing 'The Taste of Things' over Justine Triet's acclaimed 'Anatomy of a Fall,' which won the Palme d'Or and garnered five Oscar nominations, including a win for Best Original Screenplay.

The submission deadline for the 96th Academy Awards is November 14. The shortlist for Best International Feature will be revealed on December 17, followed by nominations on January 17, leading up to the awards ceremony scheduled for Sunday, March 2, 2025. (ANI)

(With inputs from agencies.)