The Czech Film and Television Academy (CFTA) has officially selected the documentary I’m Not Everything I Want to Be as the Czech Republic’s contender for the Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards.
The documentary “I’m Not Everything I Want to Be” (Ještě nejsem, kým chci být), directed by Klára Tasovská, offers a bold and intimate exploration of identity, freedom, and inner defiance through the life of photographer Libuše Jarcovjáková. A distinctive artist who steadfastly remained true to herself despite the pressures of her era and environment, Jarcovjáková’s story is told through her private diaries and thousands of analogue photographs. The film sheds light on the underground movement of 1980s Czechoslovakia, her dramatic escape to West Berlin, and her exclusive fashion shoots in Tokyo.
I’m Not Everything I Want to Be premiered last year at the Berlinale Film Festival and won the Czech Lion (Český lev) for Best Documentary Feature in March this year.
The Oscar ceremony, hosted by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), will take place on 15 March 2026. A shortlist of 15 international films is due to be announced on 16 December 2025, followed by the final nominations on 22 January 2026.
Last year’s Czech candidate, Jiří Mádl’s Waves (Vlny), made it to the Oscar shortlist. Historically, only three films from the former Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic have won the Oscar statuette: The Shop on Main Street (1965) by Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos; Closely Watched Trains (1967) by Jiří Menzel; and Kolya (1996) by Jan Svěrák.
Several others have been nominated, including Miloš Forman’s The Loves of a Blonde (1966) and The Firemen’s Ball (1968), Jiří Menzel’s My Sweet Little Village (1986), Jan Svěrák’s The Elementary School (1991), Jan Hřebejk’s Divided We Fall (2000), and Ondřej Trojan’s Želary (2003). More recently, Václav Marhoul’s The Painted Bird (2019) and Agnieszka Holland’s Charlatan (2021) reached the shortlist.
About the Czech Film and Television Academy
Established in 1995 and formally registered as an association in 2013, the CFTA aims to support and promote Czech cinema both domestically and internationally, fostering the growth of the nation’s film industry. The Academy is responsible for awarding the prestigious Czech Lion and for nominating the country’s Oscar candidates. The CFTA currently comprises 436 members.
