Last Updated:December 17, 2025, 01:17 IST

India’s Homebound makes the shortlist for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Oscars, competing with 14 other global entries.

Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound is shortlisted for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Oscars.

India’s Homebound has been shortlisted for the Best International Feature Film category at the 98th Academy Awards, the Academy announced alongside shortlists for 12 other categories. The list, which includes selections for documentary, song, score, cinematography, sound, visual effects, makeup and hairstyling, and the newly introduced casting category, features 15 films advancing to the next round from 86 eligible countries and regions.

Homebound Among 15 Films Shortlisted

The International Feature Film shortlist features movies from across the globe, including Argentina’s Belén, Brazil’s The Secret Agent, France’s It Was Just an Accident, Germany’s Sound of Falling, Iraq’s The President’s Cake, Japan’s Kokuho, Jordan’s All That’s Left of You, Norway’s Sentimental Value, Palestine’s Palestine 36, South Korea’s No Other Choice, Spain’s Sirât, Switzerland’s Late Shift, Taiwan’s Left-Handed Girl, Tunisia’s The Voice of Hind Rajab, and India’s Homebound.

Academy members from all branches participate in preliminary voting, which requires viewing the eligible films. For the final nomination round, members opting in must watch all 15 shortlisted films before casting their votes.

Neeraj Ghaywan on the Story Behind Homebound

Set in a northern Indian village, Homebound follows two childhood friends striving to pass the national police exam, a career path that could bring them dignity and stability. As they move closer to their goal, their deep bond is tested by disappointment and disillusionment.

Director Neeraj Ghaywan explained the film’s origins: “Homebound started with this op-ed essay in The New York Times. It was a true story that happened in India, and it was a story of friendship and what happened to these friends during the journey [during] the pandemic… I wanted to use that as a base friendship, as a strong way to talk about our bigger concerns that the world is now grappling with, which is that what makes migrants leave their homes in rural India or across the world? What are the things that motivate them? It’s not just jobs, it’s not just money, it’s also existential.”

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