Xavier Dolan is one step closer to taking home a little golden statue.

The Canadian filmmaker’s Juste la Fin du Monde (It’s Only the end of the World) is one of nine films to advance to the next round of voting in the Foreign Language Film category for the Academy Awards. Eighty-five films were originally considered in the category.

The film, a Canada majority copro with France, is produced by Dolan and Nancy Grant of Sons of Manual, Nathanaël Karmitz of Paris-based MK2 and Sylvain Corbeil. It tells the story of a terminally ill man who returns home after a 12-year absence to announce he is dying.

Juste la fin du Monde is Dolan’s third film to be selected as Canada’s entry for Best Foreign Language Film, though the Montreal filmmaker has never been nominated for an Oscar.

The other films to make the short list are Tanna (Australia), Land of Mine (Denmark), Toni Erdmann (Germany), The Salesman (Iran), The King’s Choice (Norway), Paradise (Russia), A Man Called Ove (Sweden), and My Life as a Zucchini (Switzerland).

The nine films will be whittled down to a final list of five Best Foreign Language Film nominees, which will be announced on Jan. 24.