Oscars: Italy Selects Paolo Strippoli’s Thriller ‘The Spiral’ for International Feature Race

Paolo Strippoli‘s “The Spiral” has been designated as Italy’s candidate in the best international feature film category of the 2027 Academy Awards.

The high-concept thriller stars Valeria Bruni Tedeschi as a demonic character called The Stranger, who entices a young mother played by Jasmine Trinca into forging a Faustian pact.

The film, which premiered in competition at Venice Film Festival earlier this month, centers on a mother-daughter relationship that spirals out of control following a shocking revelation. At the film’s start, a woman named Anna suddenly shows up at her daughter’s Alice’s house during a thunderstorm saying she wants to tell her a dark truth about their family. She claims to have made a pact with The Stranger to save Alice’s leg after an accident 20 years earlier. That pact “has triggered a domino effect causing terrible events over the years. Only Alice can help to put everything right. But at what price?” the synopsis says.

The 21-strong list of submitted titles — all of which were theatrically released in Italy in the period between Oct. 1, 2025 and Sept. 30, 2026 — also included “The Spiral’s” fellow Venice competition entries “It Will Happen Tonight” from Nanni Moretti and “Back to Buenos Aires” by Marco Bechis.

“The Spiral” was chosen to represent Italy in the Oscars race by a commission of experts named by Italy’s motion picture association ANICA.

Italy last won the best international feature film Oscar in 2014 with Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Great Beauty.”

The shortlist for the 2027 Oscar nominations will be announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Dec. 15, with the final selection revealed on Jan. 21. The 99th Academy Awards ceremony is scheduled to take place on March 14 in Los Angeles.