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Summary for: Czech Film Academy makes history by choosing documentary for Oscar nominationThe Czech Film and Television Academy (CFTA) announced Monday that Klára Tasovská’s documentary I’m Not Everything I Want to Be will represent the Czech Republic in the category of International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards.
The documentary explores themes of identity, freedom, and inner defiance through the life of photographer Libuše Jarcovjáková.
The film draws from her private diaries and thousands of analogue photographs, portraying the underground scene of 1980s Czechoslovakia, her dramatic escape to West Berlin, and exclusive fashion shoots in Tokyo.
The film premiered at the Berlinale film festival last year and won the Czech Lion Award for Best Documentary earlier this year.
To date, only three films from Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic have won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film: The Shop on Main Street (1965) by Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos, Closely Watched Trains (1967) by Jiří Menzel, and Kolya (1996) by Jan Svěrák.
Six other films have earned nominations, including works by Miloš Forman and Jan Svěrák. Recent Oscar shortlists included Václav Marhoul’s The Painted Bird (2019) and Agnieszka Holland’s Charlatan (2021).
Last year’s submission, Jiří Mádl’s Waves, advanced to the Oscar shortlist.
This year marks the first time in history that the Czech Film and Television Academy has selected a documentary as its Oscar candidate.
This year's selection not without controversy
This year, the Czech Oscar submission process was revised to include two rounds of voting. In the first round, a CFTA presidium committee shortlisted three films: Broken Voices, Caravan, and I’m Not Everything I Want to Be. In the second round, 194 academy members eligible under AMPAS rules voted from July 8 to Aug. 8 to select the final candidate.
Several prominent filmmakers, including Jiří Mádl and Václav Marhoul, protested the new two-round voting process introduced this year, arguing that the earlier voting schedule disadvantages films still in production and festival circulation.
Despite these concerns, the Academy upheld the updated rules, marking a historic moment for Czech cinema.
The 98th Oscars ceremony will be held March 15, 2026. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) will announce its shortlist of 15 international films on Dec. 16, 2025, with the final nominations revealed on Jan. 22, 2026.
