The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has unveiled shortlists in 10 categories ahead of the 97th Academy Awards. Among the shortlisted films are African projects, Dahomey from Senegal and South African short film The Last Ranger. The Oscars ceremony is scheduled for Sunday March 2, 2025, at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood.
Dahomey is shortlisted in two categories: the Documentary Feature Film and International Feature Film. The Last Ranger is in the Oscars Best Live Action Short Film category.
Directed by Mati Diop, Dahomey tells the story of the return of 26 artefacts to Benin Republic from France. The first half of the film follows the artefacts on the journey from Europe to Africa; the latter half features an interrogation, by young people, of the nature and consequences of the return.
The Last Ranger, directed by Cindy Lee, is about rhino poaching and conservation in South Africa. The film follows Litha, a teenager, as she navigates the world of a game while getting guided by a ranger. The pair’s journey will expose an uncomfortable truth.
Dahomey is the only project from Africa, even as several countries submitted their projects for consideration in the International Feature Film category. Films like Mai Martaba from Nigeria, Kismet from Cameroon, Flight 404 from Egypt, Nawi from Kenya, Everybody Loves Touda from Morocco, and Old Righteous Blues from South Africa didn’t make the shortlist of 15, from which the final list of five nominees would be chosen and announced in January.
Here’s the full list of shortlisted projects for the 2025 97th Academy Awards:
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM
The Bibi Files
Black Box Diaries
Dahomey
Daughters
Eno
Frida
Hollywoodgate
No Other Land
Porcelain War
Queendom
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Sugarcane
Union
Will & Harper
DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM
Chasing Roo
Death by Numbers
Eternal Father
I Am Ready, Warden
Incident
Instruments of a Beating Heart
Keeper
Makayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World
Once upon a Time in Ukraine
The Only Girl in the Orchestra
Planetwalker
The Quilters
Seat 31: Zooey Zephyr
A Swim Lesson
Until He’s Back
INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
Brazil, I’m Still Here
Canada, Universal Language
Czech Republic, Waves
Denmark, The Girl with the Needle
France, Emilia Pérez
Germany, The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Iceland, Touch
Ireland, Kneecap
Italy, Vermiglio
Latvia, Flow
Norway, Armand
Palestine, From Ground Zero
Senegal, Dahomey
Thailand, How to Make Millions before Grandma Dies
United Kingdom, Santosh
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
The Apprentice
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
A Different Man
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
Maria
Nosferatu
The Substance
Waltzing with Brando
Wicked
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
Alien: Romulus
Babygirl
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Blink Twice
Blitz
The Brutalist
Challengers
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
The Fire Inside
Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1
Inside Out 2
Nosferatu
The Room Next Door
Sing Sing
The Six Triple Eight
Wicked
The Wild Robot
Young Woman and the Sea
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
Forbidden Road from Better Man
Winter Coat from Blitz
Compress/Repress from Challengers
Never Too Late from Elton John: Never Too Late
El Mal from Emilia Pérez
Mi Camino from Emilia Pérez
Sick In The Head from Kneecap
Beyond from Moana 2
Tell Me It’s You from Mufasa: The Lion King
Piece By Piece from Piece by Piece
Like A Bird from Sing Sing
The Journey from The Six Triple Eight
Out Of Oklahoma from Twisters
Kiss The Sky from The Wild Robot
Harper And Will Go West from Will & Harper
ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Au Revoir Mon Monde
A Bear Named Wojtek
Beautiful Men
Bottle George
A Crab in the Pool
In the Shadow of the Cypress
Magic Candies
Maybe Elephants
Me
Origami
Percebes
The 21
Wander to Wonder
The Wild-Tempered Clavier
Yuck!
LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
Anuja
Clodagh
The Compatriot
Crust
Dovecote
Edge of Space
The Ice Cream Man
I’m Not a Robot
The Last Ranger
A Lien
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent
The Masterpiece
An Orange from Jaffa
Paris 70
Room Taken
SOUND
Alien: Romulus
Blitz
A Complete Unknown
Deadpool & Wolverine
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
Gladiator II
Joker: Folie à Deux
Wicked
The Wild Robot
VISUAL EFFECTS
Alien: Romulus
Better Man
Civil War
Deadpool & Wolverine
Dune: Part Two
Gladiator II
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Mufasa: The Lion King
Twisters
Wicked
