The Portuguese film Listen directed by Ana Rocha de Sousa, selected to represent Portugal in the Best International Feature Film race at the 93rd Academy Awards, has been rejected because the film is mostly spoken in the English language

“The International Feature Film Executive Committee decided the candidacy was ineligible and requested that a new film candidacy be submitted as urgently as possible,” the Portuguese Academy of Cinema (APC) announced.

In the film, set in the outskirts of London, Portuguese couple and parents of three, Bela and Jota, struggle to make ends meet. When a misunderstanding arises at school with their deaf daughter, the British social services grow concerned for the safety of their children. Listen portrays the tireless battle of these immigrant parents against the law to keep their family together.

Listen stars Lúcia Moniz, Sophia Myles, Ruben Garcia, Maisie Sly, Kiran Sonia Sawar, and James Felner.