Oscars: Canada Selects ‘The Things You Kill’ for Best International Feature Category
Alireza Khatami’s The Things You Kill family saga has been chosen to represent Canada in the best international feature category at the 98th Academy Awards. .
The drama about a Turkish college professor facing major upheavals on two home fronts bowed at Sundance and stars Ekin Koc, Erkan Kolçak Kostendil, Hazar Erguclu and Ercan Kesal.
“I am truly delighted that our film The Things You Kill has been selected to represent Canada at the Oscars,” Khatami said in a statement on Tuesday. “Eight years in the making, this film is a labor of love shaped by the dedication and generosity of so many extraordinary souls. What makes this moment especially meaningful to me is that Canada is making space for stories that BIPOC filmmakers have to share.”
A jury led by Telefilm Canada choosing The Things You Kill, which uses both Turkish and Farsi languages, following Canada’s Oscar contender last year, Matthew Rankin’s Universal Language, an absurdist comedy in the Farsi and French languages that was also an offbeat homage to Iranian cinema.
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That continues a trend in Canada chose Middle East-set movies to compete at the Oscars. In 2023, Canadian filmmaker Zayne Akyol’s Rojek, a film about ISIS terrorists and their dream of a Caliphate, was selected as Canada’s submission for the best international feature film category.
The Things You Kill is directed, written and produced by Khatami, and co-produced by Tell Tall Tale, Fulgurance, Remora Films, Lava Films, Band With Pictures and Sineaktif. Khatami’s debut feature, Oblivion Verses, premiered in Venice. His second feature, Terrestrial Verses, also directed with Ali Asgari, bowed at Cannes in the Un Certain Regard program.
In his Sundance review of The Things You Kill, The Hollywood Reporter movie critic Jordan Mintzer wrote: “What starts off as a staid and naturalistic drama, about a man experiencing a midlife crisis following the death of his mother, veers into Buñuel or De Palma territory in the latter half. Identities are swapped, bodies are dropped and everything seems out of whack. That is, until Khatami tries to tie things together without much explanation.”
The Canadian indie will be released in Canada on Sept. 19, ahead of the Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles held on March 15, 2026.
