Australia has selected James J Robinson’s feature debut First Light as its official submission for the Best International Feature Film category at the 99th Academy Awards, The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively.
The first-ever Filipino-Australian co-production, First Light is the first Tagalog-language film ever submitted by Australia for the Oscars.
The drama follows an elderly nun (played by Brilliante Mendoza regular Ruby Ruiz), whose life has been shaped by discipline, service and belief, who, after a young construction worker dies under suspicious circumstances, gets drawn into a world of crime and corruption. Maricel Soriano, Rez Cortez and Kidlat Tahimik co-star.
Explaining their decision, the Australian Oscar selection committee called First Light “a meditative work about an aging woman who questions her faith as her world begins to crumble around her, leaving an indelible mark.” Robinson’s feature, they said, was “an impressive debut that is a shining example of Australian filmmaking.”
First Light was produced by Gabrielle Pearson of Majella Productions and Christelle Lou Dychangco and Jane Pe Aguirre of Clou Media Productions. The film was released in cinemas in the Philippines by Clou Media Productions, and in Australian cinemas by Bonsai Films. Independent Entertainment are handling international sales.
Robinson, a photographer-turned-director, brought his feature debut to the Melbourne Film Festival last year before traveling to Marrakech and the International Film Festival Rotterdam. First Light has been critically-well received, but, lacking a platform at one of the top-tier A-list fests, the film has been largely overlooked in the awards conversation so far.
First Light is Australia’s eighteenth submission in the Best International Feature Film category. Only one Australian film, Bentley Dean and Martin Butler’s Tanna (2015) has ever been nominated for the Best International Feature Oscar. To date, no Australian film has ever won.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will announce the 15 films on the best international feature film shortlist on Dec. 15. The five nominees will be announced Jan. 21, 2027. The 99th Academy Awards ceremony will take place on March 14, 2027.
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