Oscar's international film shortlist revealed: Vietnam's "Dao, Pho, and Piano" left out

The shortlist for the Best International Feature category at the 97th Academy Awards has been released, but the Vietnamese film Dao, Pho, and Piano did not make the cut.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) announced the shortlisted contenders for several categories of the 2025 Oscars, including Best International Feature. Among the 15 films selected, Dao, Pho, and Piano (directed by Phi Tien Son) was notably absent, despite being Vietnam's

The 15 films that did make the shortlist are: Armand, Dahomey, Emilia Pérez, Flow, From Ground Zero, The Girl With the Needle, How to Make Millions before Grandma Dies, I’m Still Here, Kneecap, Santosh, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, Touch, Universal Language, Waves, and Vermiglio.

Among these films, How to Make Millions before Grandma Dies (also known in Vietnamese as Gia Tài của Ngoại), directed by Pat Boonnitipat, is the only representative from Asia. Released in June, the film became

Dao, Pho, and Piano was written and directed by Phi Tien Son with a budget of 20 billion VND. The film was selected as Vietnam's entry for the 97th Academy Awards in late September.