The jury appointed by German Films has selected Sandra Wollner’s feature Everytime as Germany’s official submission for the 99th Academy Awards in the International Feature Film category.
The German productions Yellow Letters and Shame And Money have also qualified following new Academy rules to include movies that win top prizes at major festivals.
The Germany Films jury said of their decision: “In Everytime, director and writer Sandra Wollner achieves the remarkable feat of making grief tangible as a world thrown into disarray through purely cinematic means and with a surprising lightness of touch. The outstanding cinematography creates a shimmering and at times ethereal atmosphere without intruding on the characters. The ensemble of actors is convincing in its naturalness, with the characterizations remaining consistently precise and ambivalent. Playing elegantly with form and narrative ellipses, Everytime explores the interstices of the pain of loss. Memory and the present, reality and imagination flow into one another almost imperceptibly, making this film a truly poetic cinematic experience.” Producers The Barricades and Panama Film and director and screenwriter Sandra Wollner commented: “We feel very honoured to be part of Germany’s Oscar preselection this year. At a time when German cinema has once again gained international visibility through strong auteur voices, we are particularly pleased to share this honour with our esteemed colleagues from Yellow Letters and Shame And Money. The attention Everytime received in Cannes – and now the jury’s confidence in the film – reinforce our belief that cinema needs distinctive voices with the courage to follow their own form and, precisely by doing so, reach audiences across borders. Our special thanks go to our cast, crew members, partners and funders, as well as to everyone who helped us make this film possible.”
Everytime follows “a mother, her daughter, and a teenage boy blamed for a tragic death as they travel to Tenerife together, confronting grief, blame, and forgiveness on a family holiday that never happened.” Wollner’s third feature, for which she also wrote the screenplay, was selected for the Un Certain Regard sidebar in Cannes where it won the Prix Un Certain Regard, the section’s top award. It then played at Sydney Film Festival, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the New Zealand International Film Festival, and the Melbourne International Film Festival. At the Sarajevo Film Festival, it was awarded the Heart of Sarajevo Grand Prize. Its North American premiere will follow in September at the Toronto International Film Festival. Other festival appearances have already been confirmed, including the New York Film Festival.
The German-Austrian co-production was produced by The Barricades and ZDF together with Austria’s Panama Film as a co-production partner. The film received funding from the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF), Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (MBB) and the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM).
German distributor eksystent filmverleih Kijas released in German cinemas on 6 August, 2026. Charades is handling international sales. In North America, 1-2 Special is handling distribution, with a theatrical release planned for early 2027.Following the rule changes introduced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences this spring, films that have won significant awards at selected international film festivals are also eligible for submission to the International Feature Film category. Thus, the Grand Jury Prize awarded to Visar Morina’s Shame And Money at the Sundance Film Festival and the Golden Bear won by İlker Çatak’s Yellow Letters at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival qualify the two German productions for submission to the Oscar category.
The Academy will publish a list of all films submitted for the International Feature Film category in early November. Last year, 86 countries submitted films. The shortlist of 15 titles in this category will be announced on 15 December, 2026.The five nominated films will be selected from this shortlist and announced on 21 January, 2027.The Academy Awards ceremony will take place on 14 March, 2027.
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