Ukrainian language film selected as Ireland’s Oscar entry

The Irish-made, Ukrainian-language documentary Sanatorium, produced by Dublin production company Venom Films, will be Ireland’s Oscar entry this year in the Best International Feature category.

Ireland secured its first nomination in the category in 2023 with the Irish language film An Cailín Ciúin, and made it to the final shortlist this year with Kneecap.

The category, which has seen major winners such as The Zone Of Interest, Drive My Car, I’m Still Here, and All Quiet On The Western Front, is one of the Oscars’ most competitive categories.

Indeed, The Zone Of Interest’s win in 2024 was notable as the film, which was made in the German language, was the United Kingdom’s first win in the category despite the film being in the German language.

Under Oscar rules, the film qualified as a British entry as it had British financing and production companies make the film.

Sanatorium isn’t the first time Ireland has selected a non-Irish language film as it’s Oscar entry; Viva (Spanish-language, Oscar shortlisted in 2006), In The Shadow of Beirut (Arabic-language, 2024), Gaza (Arabic-language, 2019) and As If I Am Not There (Serbo Croatian-language, 2011), are all non-Irish language films that have been put forward by Ireland.

Sanatorium was selected by IFTA’s 2025 Selection Committee, that includes Oscar-nominated flmmaker Kirsten Sheridan (In America, Disco Pigs); BAFTA & IFTA-winning filmmakers Rich Peppiatt (Kneecap, One Rogue Reporter) and Neasa Hardiman (Untamed, Happy Valley); Emmy & IFTA-nominated casting director Louise Kiely (The Banshees of Inisherin, Normal People); Emmynominated & IFTA-winning filmmaker Aoife McArdle (Severance, Kissing Candice); IFTA-winning actor Barry Ward (That They May Face The Rising Sun, Jimmy’s Hall); and chaired by IFTA Chief Executive Áine Moriarty.

Sanatorium, directed by Galway-born filmmaker Gar O’Rourke, takes a vivid look at Kuyalnik Sanatorium, a large 1970s building near Odesa in southern Ukraine, where a small group searches for love, healing & happiness, with mud treatments and Soviet-era therapies continuing despite a war close by.

Documentaries have been nominated for the Best International Feature Oscar in recent years; the Romanian documentary Collective received a nomination in 2021 and the North Macedonian documentary Honeyland received a nomination in 2020.

Áine Moriarty, IFTA Chief Executive, said, “IFTA is delighted to announce that Sanatorium will represent Ireland in the upcoming Oscar International Feature Film category”

Moriarty said the film was “an intriguing and quietly powerful film.”

“It is so inspiring to see an Irish Director and creative team collaborate with Ukrainian colleagues to capture these moments in time, which will no doubt resonate with audiences worldwide”.

The documentary will be released in Irish cinemas on September 5.