The Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) has announced that Sanatorium, a Ukrainian-language film directed by Galway-born filmmaker Gar O’Rourke, will represent Ireland in the International Feature Film category at the 2026 Academy Awards.
The documentary, set in a wellness centre near Odesa, offers a wry and vivid portrait of residents seeking love, healing and escape through unusual therapies, including the use of a mysterious black mud said to cure infertility and physical ailments. Despite the backdrop of war, the community carries on, determined to find joy and restoration.
Produced by Dublin’s Venom Films alongside Ukrainian company 2332 Films, Sanatorium has already won acclaim on the festival circuit, picking up Best Irish Feature Documentary at the Galway Film Fleadh. It premiered at CPH:DOX in Copenhagen earlier this year and has since screened at festivals in Switzerland, Edinburgh, Melbourne and Kyiv. The film will be released in Irish cinemas on 5 September by Eclipse Pictures.
Announcing the selection, IFTA Chief Executive Áine Moriarty praised the film as “intriguing and quietly powerful”, adding: “It is so inspiring to see an Irish director and creative team collaborate with Ukrainian colleagues to capture these moments in time, which will no doubt resonate with audiences worldwide.”
Speaking on RTÉ Radio One’s Morning Ireland, she said: “There are all sorts of strange treatments for ailments, mysterious black mud that can cure infertility and physical disabilities it is just quite funny…”
She added that in the film, you can see in the distance the war going on, but said the centre was chosen by people because it was “away from the beaten path”.
It is a fly-on-the-wall type of documentary, she said, in which people tell their stories.
“It is really why film matters in a sense because people can bear witness, build empathy and show a shared humanity.”
Director Gar O’Rourke said representing Ireland at the Oscars was “an incredible honour”, describing the film as a tribute to “the power of healing, the resilience of community, and above all the strength of the Ukrainian spirit in the face of such traumatic times.”
Producers Andrew Freedman, Ken Wardrop and Samantha Corr said the choice was a recognition not only of the Irish creative team but also of the “resilient community of Kuyalnik Sanatorium outside Odesa, where even in the shadow of war, people come to heal, to laugh and to show extraordinary humanity.”
Sanatorium follows in the footsteps of recent Irish Oscar contendersAn Cailín Ciúin (The Quiet Girl), which was nominated in 2023, and Kneecap, which made the shortlist earlier this year. Past IFTA entries have included films in Irish, Spanish, Arabic and Serbo-Croatian.
The Oscar shortlist for International Feature will be announced on 16 December, with the final five nominees revealed on 22 January. The 98th Academy Awards take place in Los Angeles on 15 March 2026.
