Minotaure, the new film by Andreï Zviaguintsev, has been chosen to represent France in the race for the Best International Feature Film Oscar. Already awarded the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival 2026, the feature will arrive in French cinemas on the October 14, 2026.
This country’s selection doesn’t yet guarantee an Oscar nomination for the film. Minotaure will first have to make the shortlist announced on December 15, 2026, before the final nominations are unveiled on January 21, 2027. The 99th Academy Awards ceremony will be held on March 14, 2027, in Los Angeles.
The action unfolds in Russia in 2022. Gleb, a successful businessman, lives with his wife Galina and their son in a provincial town. As mounting professional pressures collide with a growing sense of instability, the carefully maintained family and social balance he’s built begins to crumble, ultimately spiraling into violence.
Written by Andreï Zviaguintsev and Simon Liachenko, the screenplay draws on La Femme infidèle, a film written and directed by Claude Chabrol in 1969. The Russian filmmaker reimagines this tale of a troubled couple, suspicion, and violence within contemporary Russia, against a backdrop of political and moral upheaval.
Dmitri Mazourov stars as Gleb opposite Iris Lebedeva in the role of Galina. The cast also includes Boris Koudrine, Yuriy Zavalnyouk, Varvara Chmykova, Vladimir Friedman, Elena Bogdanovitch-Goloubeva and Artur Smolianinov. With a runtime of 2h20, the film is a co-production between France, Germany and Latvia, distributed in France by Les Films du Losange.
Shown in the official Cannes 2026 competition, Minotaure seized the Grand Prix. The film has since carried on its international run with selections announced at Telluride, Toronto, San Sebastián, New York, Busan, London and the Lumière Festival.
This prize extends Andrey Zvyagintsev’s enduring relationship with the Cannes Film Festival. The Banishment earned Konstantin Lavronenko the Best Actor prize in 2007, while Elena, Leviathan and Loveless were also celebrated on the Croisette.
With its selection to represent France, Minotaure now enters a new chapter in its international career. French audiences will be able to see the film in theaters on October 14, 2026.
To go further, check out the October movie releases, what's playing right now, and our pick of the year's dramas.
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