What It Takes to Get On the Oscar International Shortlist Without a Major U.S. Distributor

variety.com:

Matt Minton mminton@variety.com Out of the 15 films that were named to this year’s Oscars shortlist for Best International Film, major distributors like Netflix backing “Emilia Pérez” and Sony Pictures Classics behind “I’m Still Here” have been huge contributors to the success of those films.

Notably, though, one film on the list still doesn’t have U.S. distribution — the Czech Republic submission “Waves.” With the countless factors involved in bringing a successful Oscar campaign to life — this year, the shortlist of 15 chosen from the 85 countries that submitted films — even making the shortlist, let alone getting nominated, without a theatrical distributor to get the word out beforehand is a major accomplishment.

The “Waves” campaign has been led by MediaPlanPR, an L.A.-based public relations firm specializing in international films. Their past successes include Oscar nominations for “Kon-Tiki,” “Bullhead” and “My Life As a Zucchini.” Tatiana Detlofson, founder and executive strategist of MediaPlanPR, says that having a film representing a small country like the Czech Republic poses challenges right off the bat.

To secure a sizable budget, she credits having an active producer like Monika Kristlová who “went out and knocked on every door in Czech Republic.” “Most of these films with distribution, they do big screenings all over the world because a major part of the Academy’s voting body is international,” Detlofson tells Variety. “We have only seven voters, and only four are voting for international film.