Is Homebound Going To Oscars? What Is The Difference Between Getting Shortlisted And Nominated? Explained

Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound just landed a spot on the Oscars shortlist for Best International Feature Film, and that’s huge. Still, things get tougher from here.

Only a few make it from the shortlist to the final nominations, and that’s when India’s shot at its first Oscar in this big category really starts to feel real.

Difference between Oscars’ shortlist and nomination

Homebound stars Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khatter, and Vishal Jhetwa. It’s set deep in India, and it doesn’t shy away from tough topics like caste and religious discrimination.

At its core, this is a story about two best friends from the same village, both trying to figure out who they are. Produced by Karan Johar, the film dives into themes of inequality, resilience, and finding hope when things look bleak.

Out of 89 countries that sent in their picks, only 15 films made the cut for this year’s Best International Feature Film shortlist. That alone is a big deal.

What is the next step? 

For the next month, Homebound waits while the Academy narrows those 15 films down to the final nominations. This is the last stop before the real Oscar race begins.

All the shortlisted films get watched and voted on by Academy members. That means Homebound has already stood out from a packed field, earning a place alongside movies like Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident (France) and Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice (South Korea).

Historically, India hasn’t had much luck in this category. In nearly a century of Oscars, only four Indian films have ever made the shortlist, and just three have scored final nominations, Mother India in 1957, Salaam Bombay! in 1988, and Lagaan in 2002.

If Homebound makes the final list, it’ll be only the fourth to do it. Last Film Show, a Gujarati film, also made the shortlist in 2021 but didn’t go further.

The competition is intense this year, with strong entries like It Was Just an Accident, No Other Choice, and Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value (Norway) all in the running.

India’s never actually won an Oscar for a film, though RRR’s Naatu Naatu did win the Best Original Song, which was a big moment for Indian cinema. The Academy will announce the final nominations on January 22, 2026. Before that, members cast their votes from January 12 to 16.

Here’s the full list of the 15 films on the 2026 shortlist for Best International Feature Film:

Belen (Argentina)
The Secret Agent (Brazil)
It Was Just an Accident (France)
Sound of Falling (Germany)
Homebound (India)
The President’s Cake (Iraq)
Kokuho (Japan)
All That’s Left of You (Jordan)
Sentimental Value (Norway)
Palestine 36 (Palestine)
No Other Choice (South Korea)
Sirat (Spain)
Late Shift (Switzerland)
Left-Handed Girl (Taiwan)
The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tunisia)

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