The Voice of Hind Rajab, 2 Other African Films Make Oscars’ Best Picture 201 Film-Long Eligibility List

Three African films have made the Oscars 2026 Best Picture eligibility list: The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tunisia), On Becoming a Guinea Fowl (Zambia) and Don't Let's Go To the Dogs Tonight (South Africa). 

Three African films: The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tunisia), On Becoming a Guinea Fowl (Zambia), and Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight (South Africa); have made the Oscars’ 201-film eligibility list for the Best Picture category, as seen in a January 8 Press statement. 

These 3 are part of 317 total eligible films for the 98th Academy Awards to hold on March 15. 

The Voice of Hind Rajab had initially been revealed as the only African Film in contention for the Best International Feature trophy — further making the 15-film shortlist advancing to the next round of voting. It has also been nominated at the Golden Globes, Satellite Awards, and BFI London Film Festival, to name a few, and won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival, following in the footsteps of Alaeddine Slim’s The Last of Us (Akher Wahed Fina) and Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Man Who Sold His Skin, which won in 2016 and 2020, respectively – the latter notably earned Tunisia’s first ever Oscars nomination, in February 2021. 

While the other two haven’t made so much of a splash in this Awards’ season, they remain some of the best films released in 2025. On Becoming A Guinea Fowl, in particular, made the Black Film Wire’s Top Diaspora Films of 2025 rec list. 

Based on accolades and nods so far, the frontrunners for the statuette include: Sinners, One Battle After Another, Marty Supreme, Sentimental Blues, Hamnet, Blue Moon, Jay Kelly, Train Dreams, It Was Just An Accident, No Other Choice, Bugonia, The Secret Agent, The Testament of Ann Lee, and Frankenstein; all of which are eligible. 

Eligibility in the Best Picture category requires general eligibility and submission of the confidential Academy Representation and Inclusion Standards Entry (RAISE) form, per the Academy’s website. Films must also have met two additional standards including a 7-day theatrical run, consecutive or otherwise, in 10 of the top 50 US markets, at least 45 days after the initial release in 2025. Nomination announcements are expected on January 22.