WANA:

The feature film Cause of Death: Unknown, directed by Ali Zarnegar, which had been officially submitted as Iran’s entry for the 98th Academy Awards, failed to advance to the shortlist of the Best International Feature Film category and has been eliminated from the race.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Wednesday announced the preliminary shortlists for the 2026 Oscars across 12 categories, including Best International Feature Film (non-English language), Documentary Feature and Short, Animated Short, Cinematography, Visual Effects, Sound, Music, and— for the first time in Oscar history—Best Casting.

In the Best International Feature Film category, 15 films were selected from submissions by 86 countries and territories. The shortlisted titles represent Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, India, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Norway, Palestine, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, and Tunisia. Among them, the Spanish film Sirat has emerged as one of the strongest non-English-language contenders, appearing not only in this category but also in several technical fields.

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