The Czech Film and Television Academy (CFTA) announced August 19 Pepa Lubojacki’s If Pigeons Turned to Gold as the Czech candidate for an Oscar® in the category of International Feature Film. The doc had its world premiere in February this year at the Berlinale, where it won the award for Best Documentary Feature, as well as the independent Caligari Film Prize.
If Pigeons Turned to Gold is produced by Wanda Kaprálová and Klára Mamojková of CLAW Films.
The film’s synopsis reads how, for five years, the director followed the fortunes of her brother and two cousins whose addictions were slowly destroying their relationships, homes and feeling of security. Using “DIY aesthetics,” the director interlinks diary shots, stylized memories, live photos as well as graphic collages without sentiment to try and understand the reasons for their fall and also the impact of it on the whole family.
The film will premiere in Czech cinemas at the end of September.
In 2024, producer Kaprálová described If Pigeons Turned to Gold as “a powerful, deeply intimate film” showing “fragile family moments” and praised director Pepa’s determination to share their story. “Nowadays in the world of increasing uncertainty, pain in families grows and is passed further on. […] The theme of addiction is often politically suppressed and downplayed by media even though it concerns many individuals and families. [Addiction] is shot in a sensitive way in our film. It’s shot through the lens of its roots, and its psychological consequences.”
The presentation of the 99th annual awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will take place on March 14, 2027. The shortlisted selection of 15 international films will be published on December 15 this year, and the nominations will then be announced on January 21, 2027.
