China, Syria and Pakistan Name International Oscar Submissions

China, Syria and Pakistan have each announced their pick for the international feature film category at the Academy Awards, setting three titles on the road to the 99th ceremony.

Mainland China selected Wen Muye's anti-war drama Once Upon a Time in the Middle East, while Pakistan chose Mohammed Ali Naqvi's documentary thriller Hanging by a Wire for the same 99th Academy Awards race. Syria has entered Tawfik Sabouni's documentary The Other Side of the Sun in the best international feature film category of the 2027 Academy Awards.

Syria's pick is its first Oscar candidate since the fall of Bashar Assad's regime, with the selection made by the country's newly formed AMPAS-accredited committee, according to Variety.

Festival runs behind the entries

Once Upon a Time in the Middle East opened in mainland China on Aug. 11 and had grossed RMB2.356 billion ($351 million) by the time of the Oscar announcement. The Other Side of the Sun world premiered in the Panorama section of this year's Berlinale.

Hanging by a Wire debuted at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival in the World Cinema Documentary Competition lineup before playing the Tribeca Festival. Its subject dates back to August 2023, when a cable car emergency in Battagram, Pakistan, left eight passengers suspended roughly 900 feet above a ravine after a cable snapped.