Oscars: India’s Homebound Moves A Step Closer!

Indian film Homebound, which is the lone contestant from our country for this year’s prestigious Academy Awards known as Oscars, has now moved another step closer towards winning the elusive glory in International Feature Film Category. This heartwarming development has further strengthened hopes for the final nomination. 

On Monday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the list of 15 best films which advanced to the next round of voting in the International Film category and Homebound has been shortlisted among other films from different countries all over the globe. 

The shortlisted films will now contend to advance into the next stage which will narrow down to five serious contenders and the final Oscar nominations will be announced on January 22nd. The winners will be declared on March 15th at a grand ceremony in Los Angeles. 

Featuring in the final 15 list are other critically acclaimed films like ‘Belén’ from Argentina, ‘The Secret Agent’ from Brazil, ‘It Was Just an Accident’ from France, ‘Sound of Falling’ from Germany, ‘Kokuho’ from Japan, and ‘No Other Choice’ from South Korea. The list also includes entries from Iraq, Jordan, Norway, Palestine, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, and Tunisia.

Homebound has already achieved a rare feat back home by becoming only the fifth film in the history of Indian cinema to be shortlisted for Best International Feature Film. It will be a great achievement if Homebound ends the long wait and brings the coveted Oscars in best film category. 

Directed by Neeraj Ghaywan and produced by Karan Johar, Homebound stars Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa and Jahnvi Kapoor in prominent roles. The film is about two friends who try to rise above the their social status but suffer unexpected consequences during COVID pandemic.