Oscars: Croatia Selects ‘God Will Not Help’ As Best International Feature Film Submission
News Source
•Thu, 03 Sep 2026 19:15:01 +0000
📰 What Happened
Croatia has chosen Hana Jusic's film 'God Will Not Help' as its entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 99th Academy Awards. It is Jusic's second solo feature film after her 2016 debut 'Quit Staring at My Plate'.
The film is about a mountain community thrown into turmoil when a mysterious foreign woman arrives claiming to be the wife of a man who left years ago. It won the Best Performance award at the Locarno Film Festival in 2025.
🔍 The Backstory
The Academy Awards invite every country to submit one film for the international feature prize. Croatia has submitted a mix of dramas and art films over the years, and a strong pick can put a small country's cinema in the global spotlight.
'God Will Not Help' premiered in competition at Locarno, where it also won acting awards for Manuela Martelli and Ana Marija Veselcic. It has since played in more than 40 festivals and won 12 prizes, making it one of Croatia's most honoured films.
🎯 Why It Matters
An Oscar nomination would introduce the film to millions of viewers worldwide and celebrate Croatian cinema. Every submission also shows how national stories travel through the world's biggest film prize.
Croatia has chosen Hana Jusic's film 'God Will Not Help' as its entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 99th Academy Awards. It is Jusic's second solo feature film after her 2016 debut 'Quit Staring at My Plate'.
The film is about a mountain community thrown into turmoil when a mysterious foreign woman arrives claiming to be the wife of a man who left years ago. It won the Best Performance award at the Locarno Film Festival in 2025.
The Academy Awards invite every country to submit one film for the international feature prize. Croatia has submitted a mix of dramas and art films over the years, and a strong pick can put a small country's cinema in the global spotlight.
'God Will Not Help' premiered in competition at Locarno, where it also won acting awards for Manuela Martelli and Ana Marija Veselcic. It has since played in more than 40 festivals and won 12 prizes, making it one of Croatia's most honoured films.
An Oscar nomination would introduce the film to millions of viewers worldwide and celebrate Croatian cinema. Every submission also shows how national stories travel through the world's biggest film prize.