Sandhya Suri’s Santosh has been chosen because the UK entry for the very best worldwide characteristic Oscar award, as confirmed by Bafta on behalf of the UK Choice Committee.
Suri’s fiction characteristic debut premiered in Un Sure Regard at Cannes this 12 months. The UK is the present holder of the worldwide characteristic award, having gained its first such prize in February this 12 months with Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Curiosity.
Santosh is against the law thriller by which the eponymous newly-widowed lady inherits her husband’s job as a police constable, and begins an investigation beneath the wing of a charismatic feminist inspector.
The movie is produced by James Bowsher and Mike Goodridge for the UK’s Good Chaos with France’s Balthazar de Ganay and Alan McAlex for India’s Appropriate Photos. France’s mk2 Movies handles gross sales, with Metrograph Photos buying US rights and Haut et Court docket set to launch in France. Govt producers are Ama Ampadu, Eva Yates, Diarmid Scrimshaw, Lucia Haslauer and Martin Gerhard.
The Hindi-language movie was backed by the BFI, BBC Movie, ZDF/Arte and CNC.
Suri was named a Display screen Star of Tomorrow in 2023, with Bowsher receiving the accolade in 2024.
To be eligible for the award, the movie have to be a British characteristic with greater than 51% non-English language dialogue, launched theatrically anyplace outdoors of the US no sooner than November 1, 2023 and no later than September 30, 2024.
The UK Choice Committee are all members or representatives of Bafta’s Movie Committee. The previous group attend a gathering to debate all eligible titles; choose a shortlist; and vote by secret poll.