Australia has chosen the drama “The Wolves Always Come At Night,” focusing on Gabriel Bladium as a contender for the 2026 Oscars’ best international feature film category.
Combining documentary filmmaking techniques with narrative storytelling, Mongolian films center around pursuers who are driven out of the land by increasingly destructive weather patterns. The real-life pastors Dabaaslen Dagvaslen and Otgonzaya Dashebeg stars work together alongside Brady.
Members of the Australian Select Committee unanimously supported the selection, and the spokesman said: “The Australian Select Committee was unanimous and said, “The wolves are always very pleased to come in the evening. As an official submission to the Australian Academy Awards. Everyone on the committee was considered a necessary film viewing.”
Brady’s sophomore feature following “Island of the Hungry Ghosts” has built up considerable momentum on the festival circuit since his Toronto Film Festival debut in a platform competition. The film has since been screened at several international festivals, including London, Zurich, IDFA, San Francisco International, True/Fall, and Sydney.
The filmmaker said: “Our film is about bringing an audience close to the lives of Dabaa and Zaya, who are facing a sudden, drastic change in climate change, but finding ways to resist irreversible changes.
The film’s subject added: “We are extremely proud that this film has been chosen in this way, and we hope that this will help us understand the huge changes that are happening in our pastures and landscapes.
This production represents a rare three-way international collaboration between Germany, Australia and Mongolia. Rita Walsh (“Assistant”, “Buying Power”) was created with Julia Niethammer of Chromosom Film and Ariunaa Tserenpil of Guru Media.
Screen Australia provided major production financing supplemented by private investments from Weiranderson Films and Storming Donkey Productions. Additional support came from broadcasters BBC Storyville and SWR Arte as well as distributor Madman Films. Cinephil handles international sales.
The producer team said: “Our beautiful international collaboration has been a very important and enriching experience for all of us. Being selected by the Australian Commission is a very special moment for the Australian film team, but it is a huge honor for all of our teams in Mongolia, Germany, Colombia, the UK and the US to compete with many other films.”
The selection continues its nearly three years of participation in Australia’s international functional category dating back to 1996. Previous Australian submissions included the Indigenous submission films Ten Canoes (2006), Samson and Delilah (2009), The Rocket (2013), and Oscar-Nominated “Tanna” (2016).
Brady’s films also compete in the documentary feature category.
The Oscar International feature summary will be announced on December 16th, with the last five candidates announced on January 22nd.
