“After analysing the film 'Listen' by Ana Rocha de Sousa, the 'International Feature Film Executive Committee' considered the candidacy ineligible and requests that a new candidate be sent as urgently as possible”, said the Portuguese Academy of Cinema (APC), who has now opened a new selection process.

APC stresses that "the exclusion is linked to one of the eligibility criteria that requires at least 50 percent of the candidate film to be spoken in a non-English language".

"Listen" was the most voted among APC members, in a choice between four Portuguese films proposed for discussion: "Listen", by Ana Rocha de Sousa, "Mosquito", by João Nuno Pinto, "Patrick", by Gonçalo Waddington, and "Vitalina Varela", by Pedro Costa.

The 93rd edition of the Oscars, North American cinema awards, is scheduled for 25 April 2021, in Los Angeles, in the United States. Oscar nominations will be announced in March.