Oscars: Austria Submits ‘The Devil’s Bath’ For Best International Feature Film

Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala’s period horror movie The Devil’s Bath will represent Austria in the Best International Feature Film category of the 97th annual Academy Awards.

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The submission was decided by a jury of experts and announced by the Film & Music Association of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber.

The film, starring Anja Plaschg, premiered in Competition at the 2024 Berlinale, where it won the Silver Bear for Best Cinematography (Martin Gschlacht).

The feature is produced by Ulrich Seidl Filmproduktion, in co-production with Heimatfilm Cologne & Coop99.

Set against the backdrop of 18th century Austria, Plaschg stars as a woman trapped in a marriage with a disinterested husband and controlling mother-in-law who makes her life hell.

Struggling with the isolation and despair of her unfulfilling existence, she descends down a dark and disturbing path.

Based on historical records and the work of scholar Kathy Stuart, the film takes inspiration from the real-life figure of Ewa Lizlfellner, an Austrian peasant woman who was beheaded in 1762 for the crime of killing a child.

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Per Stuart’s research, her crime was an act of “suicide by proxy” by the depressed woman who wanted to end her life but did not want to face eternal damnation under the tenets of Christianity, condemning suicide as a sin.

The Devil’s Bath is the third fiction feature from Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala after award-winning Goodnight Mommy (2014) and The Lodge (2019).

The movie has sold into 30 territories for Paris-based sales company Playtime, with Shudder, AMC Networks acquiring all rights in North America, as well as in the U.K., Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

News of Austria’s submission followed hot-on-the heels of Ireland’s announcement that it is submitting Irish-language Sundance title Kneecap .

Under the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences rules for its 97th Academy Awards, Best International Feature Film submissions must have been theatrically released in their home country after November 1, 2023, and no later than September 30, 2024 for at least seven consecutive days.

The deadline for submission is 5 p.m. PT on October 2, 2024. The 97th Academy Awards ceremony will take place on March 2, 2025.

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