The following German co-productions are in the shortlist alongside the German entry:

• THE SECRET AGENT by Kleber Mendonça Filho (BR/FR/DE/NL, One Two Films) – Brazil
• ALL THAT’S LEFT OF YOU by Cherien Dabis (DE/CY, Pallas Film, Twenty Twenty Vision Filmproduktion) – Jordan

• SENTIMENTAL VALUE by Joachim Trier (NO/DE/DK/FR/SE, Komplizen Film) – Norway

• LATE SHIFT (HELDIN) by Petra Biondina Volpe (CH/DE, MMC Zodiac) - Switzerland

On January 22, 2026, the Academy will reveal which five of the 15 films in the shortlist will then be going forward to the final selection to take part in the competition for the Oscar® in this category. Films from 86 countries were accepted for consideration for the selection.

In August, a nine-member independent jury had selected SOUND OF FALLING from five submissions as the German entry for the „International Feature Film“ Oscar® category.

About the film:
A secluded four-sided farmstead in the Altmark region. For over a century, the walls have breathed the lives of the people who live here, their tastes, their existence in time. SOUND OF FALLING tells the story of four women from different eras – Alma (1910s), Erika (1940s), Angelika (1980s) and Nelly (2020s) – whose lives are eerily intertwined. Each of them experiences their childhood or youth on this farm, but as they roam through their own present, traces of the past – unspoken fears, repressed traumas, buried secrets - reveal themselves to them. Alma discovers that she was named after her deceased sister and believes she must follow the same fate. Erika loses herself in a dangerous fascination with her disabled uncle. Angelika balances between a death wish and a lust for life, trapped in a fragile family system. And finally there’s Nelly, growing up in apparent security, who is haunted by intense dreams and the unconscious burden of the past. When a tragic event repeats itself on the farm, the boundaries between past and present begin to blur.

SOUND OF FALLING was the opening film in this year's Official Competition at the Festival de Cannes. The film was awarded the Jury Prize (ex aequo). Critics and industry professionals were already enthusiastic  straight after the premiere screenings in Cannes. The press described Schilinski's drama as a “mesmerising stunner” (IndieWire), “brilliant epic” (Variety), “captivating, courageous portrait of womanhood”’ (The Hollywood Reporter) and “an exhilarating experience” (Deadline).

SOUND OF FALLING was screened in Shanghai, Karlovy Vary, and at several festivals in Australia, shortly after the Cannes premiere. By the end of the year, the film has also been shown at such renowned international festivals as New York, Busan, Vancouver, BFI London, Chicago, AFI FEST Los Angeles, Bangkok, and Stockholm, where it won further awards. SOUND OF FALLING has received eight nominations for the European Film Awards, which will be presented on January 17, 2026, including for Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay.

SOUND OF FALLING was produced by Maren Schmitt, Lucas Schmidt and Lasse Scharpen (for Studio Zentral) with ZDF/Das kleine Fernsehspiel (Burkhard Althoff and Melvina Kotios) and backed by Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (MDM), the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM), and the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF).

The German distributor Neue Visionen released the film in German cinemas on August 28, 2025, with almost 350.000 admissions to date. mk2 is handling international sales. SOUND OF FALLING has already been sold to over 40 territories around the world. MUBI acquired the rights for North America, the UK, Ireland, India and Turkey and will be releasing the film nationwide in US cinemas on January 16, 2026.

The German filmmaker Mascha Schilinski studied Screenwriting at the Hamburg Film School and Directing at the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg. In her third year of studies, she directed her debut feature, DARK BLUE GIRL. Starring Helena Zengel in the lead role, this film had its world premiere at the Berlinale in 2017, was shown at numerous film festivals and won several international awards.  SOUND OF FALLING is Mascha Schilinski's second feature film.

In addition, German filmmakers were nominated for the shortlist in the following categories for their participation in these films:

• "Cinematography": Fabian Gamper for SOUND OF FALLING

The Oscar® awards ceremony will be held at the Dolby® Theatre in Hollywood on March 15, 2026.
Further information about the 98th Academy Awards® and the regulations can be found here.