The eyes of the world’s filmmakers will be laser-focused on Los Angeles on Dec. 15. That’s when the Academy unveils the shortlist for this year’s Best International Film race, which winnows the hundreds of submissions down to 15 titles from across the globe. And Gold Derby’s expert prognosticators are expecting to see a Rose bloom among those final contenders.
Helmed by casting director-turned-filmmaker Markus Schleinzer, the period drama kicked off a four-movie year for its star, Sandra Hüller. Premiering at the Berlin Film Festival in February, Rose earned the German actress a Best Leading Performance statuette for her impassioned performance as a veteran of the Thirty Years’ War who attempts to start a new life as a farmer — and as a man.
“She’s putting on a disguise in order to survive in a society that’s really dangerous for woman to live in, especially during times of war. It felt like the only choice she had,” Hüller told Gold Derby about her alter ego earlier this year. “The things that happen to her are very cruel, but I think of her as someone who is able to protect something inside of her so she’s not affected by those things.”
A previous Best Actress nominee for 2023’s Anatomy of a Fall, Hüller is eyeing a repeat nomination as her odds for Rose surge in a year where we could see a record number of international film actresses honored in that category. And Hüller helped clear a path by diverting her role in another international contender, Fatherland, to the Supporting Actress category alongside her performances in the box-office hit Project Hail Mary and the box-office disappointment Digger.
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Inde Navarrette
Obsession
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Possible Love
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Tender Loving Care
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Thanks to recent Oscar rules changes, actors can now be nominated in the same category for multiple films, which means Hüller could receive two or even three nominations across Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress if Fatherland and Project Hail Mary prove equally popular with voters. (A Digger nod is less likely, but she’s sure to have Mandy Patinkin’s vote.)
Rose‘s own odds have surged along with its star. Our experts have the film ranked as one of the Top 5 contenders for a Best International Film nomination behind front-runner La Bola Negra as well as All of a Sudden, Fjord, and Possible Love. Their Top 15 also includes Minotaur, Fatherland, and The Dreamed Adventure — all movies that could find their way onto the Academy shortlist on Dec. 15.
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Meanwhile, Rose is currently deadlocked with Fatherland on our experts-only leaderboard for the Best Non-English Film at the 2027 Golden Globes. With six available slots in that category, both movies could ultimately be part of the Globes’ global bouquet.
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Note: Golden Globes producer Dick Clark Productions is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Eldridge and Penske Media Corporation, which owns Gold Derby.
