An Australian committee of screen industry professionals corralled by Screen Australia have officially submitted James J. Robinson’s debut feature First Light for consideration for the 2027 Best International Feature Film Academy Award, for presentation at the 2027 Oscars.
Eligibility criteria states that all features in this category must feature more than 50% of dialogue in a non-English language. First Light is largely spoken in Tagalog, the national language of the Phillipines, in which the film is set.
The story follows a nun (Ruby Ruiz) who is drawn into a web of corruption following the suspicious death of a construction worker.
Per comments by the selection committee, the film has been submitted as a ‘meditative work’ that leaves a mark. It also noted the quality of the film, as an impressive debut from director Robinson.
James J. Robinson’s First Light submitted for Academy Award – quick links
ScreenHub’s review of First Light
In the ScreenHub review, we called First Light a ‘luminous reckoning with darkness’ while also acknowledging the artful work of Robinson in this debut feature.
‘The integral cinematic arts of good framing, blocking and lighting have been increasingly AWOL these days, with far too many films and TV shows being muddily dark and visually fuddled to the point of near-incomprehensibility. Thank goodness, then, for Filipino-Australian writer and director James J. Robinson and his astonishing debut feature, First Light,’ reviewer Stephen A. Russell wrote.
‘A former photographer, Robinson’s gifted eye – alongside that of remarkable cinematographer Amy Dellaris, shooting on luminous 35mm – is proof, in more ways than one, that the darkness need not be overwhelming.’
‘Both a metaphysical musing on worlds and viewpoints slowly slipping away and a very grounded reckoning with the cashed-up forces that trespass against us, it offers up a prayer for human kindness.’
First Light has certainly earned its submission to the Oscars. It joins a strong list of previous Australian-made submissions to this award, including Warwick Thornton’s Samson and Delilah and Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr’s Ten Canoes.
James J. Robinson on First Light
Earlier in the year, ScreenHub spoke to James J. Robinson about First Light and its intentionality. He spoke openly about the film as a reflection on his faith and culture, and how it became a means to process his emotions.
‘I was raised in this way that was beautiful and taught me that the world works in this certain way. And then at a certain point, I started questioning things, when I realised that my identity didn’t fit into this supposed perfect world,’ Robinson said.
‘Then there was anger, then there was a kind of submission, and then there was a way of looking back at it.’
In ‘writing about it in this really direct way’ in First Light, he crafted a narrative that tells ‘that same story through metaphor, putting a very personal spiritual journey into a tangible narrative that people could follow … I think that I processed all of my emotions through the film. I guess that’s why it’s such a classically linear story, because I’m like “that was my journey and my relationship to the Catholic church.”‘
The Academy Awards shortlist for the 15 films to be considered for the Best International Feature Film nominations will be announced on 15 December. The official five nominations for the Academy Awards will be revealed on 21 January 2027, ahead of the 2027 Academy Awards ceremony on 14 March.
Our congratulations to the team behind First Light on this submission.
