REUTERS

The film, a dark story of a man's midlife crisis, won an award at the Odesa film festival in July, according to Hollywood Reporter.

The film is Ukraine's 10th foreign-language Oscar submission since 1997. No Ukrainian film has made the shortlist for the Academy Awards.

In 2015, Ukraine was unable to submit a film due to a conflict over the makeup of the Ukrainian Oscar committee and a new selection procedure between Ukraine's national filmmakers' union and the Ukrainian producers' association.

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The shift was prompted by a controversy in 2014, when the selection of The Guide over The Tribe, Ukraine's biggest international festival hit of recent years, triggered accusations of conflicts of interest.

Read alsoUkraine activists mark two years since filmmaker Sentsov's conviction in Russia – mediaIn the summer of 2016, the two conflicting agencies signed a memorandum agreeing on the makeup of the Ukrainian Oscar committee, which was later approved by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Subsequently, Ukraine was able to submit the documentary Ukrainski sherify (Ukrainian Sheriffs) last year.