The decision was made by a selection committee appointed by the Ministry of Culture and Media and consisting of: Dubravka Drakić, actress (president), film and television directors Nikola Vukčević, Nemanja Bečanović, Bojan Stijović, and Marija Perović, and producers Sanja Jovanović and Edin Jašarović, according to the Film Centre of Montenegro.

Shot in Montenegro, To Hold a Mountain follows a mother and daughter, who defend their mountain and nomadic herding tradition from the formation of a NATO military training ground.

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary, followed by the Grand Prix Award at the Millennium Docs Against Gravity, the Grand Jury Award and Best Director of a Documentary Feature at the RiverRun IFF, the Jury Award for Best Documentary at the Minneapolis–Saint Paul IFF, the Heart of Sarajevo for Best Feature Documentary Film at the Sarajevo Film Festival, and the Audience Award and the Dandelion Award for best film in the Regional Competition of the 17th Underhill Fest.

To Hold a Mountain was produced by Ardor Films d.o.o. (Montenegro) and Wake Up Films (Serbia), in coproduction with Les Films de l'œil sauvage, Stenola Productions, Kinematograf, and Cvinger Film, having Cut-Up d.o.o as associate producers. It was supported by the Film Centre of Montenegro, Film Center Serbia, CNC France - Cinéma du Monde, the Slovenian Film Centre, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, PACA Fund of the Southern France Region, RTV Slovenia, Tax Shelter Belgium, InMaat Foundation, Doc Society Climate Story Fund, Uniqua See Future Foundation, Catapult Film Fund, Chicken & Egg Films, Diane Weyermann fellowship, IDA Enterprise Grant, the Council of Europe, and Eurimages.

The nominations for 99th Academy Awards will be announced on 21 January and the 99th Academy Awards will be held on 14 March 2027 at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, Los Angeles.