„The Settlers" enters Oscar race for Chile

The Filmstiftung-backed production "The Settlers" by Felipe Gálvez has entered the race for Chile at the 96th Academy Awards® in the "Best International Feature Film" category. Gálvez wrote the screenplay together with Antonia Girardi. Camilo Arancibia and Alfredo Castro were among the cast appearing in front of the camera in Chile.

"The Settlers" is a production of Chile’s Quijote Films in co-production with Cologne-based Sutor Kolonko, Quiddity (GB), Ciné-sud (FR), SnowGlobe (DK), and Rei Cine (AR). The Filmstiftung backed the international co-production in the “Vereinfachte Förderung” programme with 70,000 Euros. MK2 Films is handling international sales. The film was awarded the FIPRESCI Prize in the Un Certain Regard sidebar at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. "The Settlers" can also be seen at the San Sebastian Film Festival (22 to 30 September) and the Toronto International Film Festival (7 to 17 September, 2023).

"The Settlers" has a wealthy landowner in early 20th century Chile hiring three horsemen to stake out the boundaries of his sprawling property and open a path to the Atlantic for his sheep. The expedition consisting of a young Chilean mestizo, an American mercenary and a ruthless British lieutenan, soon turns into a “civilising” raid across the vast expanses of Patagonia.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will publish a list of all the titles submitted for the Best International Feature Film category in mid-October. 92 countries submitted films last year. The 15-title shortlist for the category, which includes films submitted from a wide range of countries, will be announced on 21 December, 2023. The five nominated films will then be selected from this shortlist and announced on 23 January, 2024. The Oscar® awards ceremony will take place on 10 March, 2024.

The feature film "The Teachers’ Lounge" by Ilker Çatak wil represent Germany in the race for the 96th Oscar® Awards. An independent jury of experts appointed by German Films took this decision. A total of 13 films were submitted for consideration.

"The Teachers’ Lounge" was produced by if…Productions Film as a co-production with ZDF and ARTE and supported by BKM, MOIN Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein as well as the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) and the German Federal Film Board (FFA). The main roles are played by Leonie Benesch, Michael Klammer and Rafael Stachowiak. The film had its German theatrical release on 4 May, 2023 through Alamode Filmdistribution and been seen by around 230,000 cinema-goers by August.