Film: Record 71 Countries Submit Films For Foreign-Language Oscars

RECORD 71 COUNTRIES SUBMIT FILMS FOR FOREIGN-LANGUAGE OSCARS

The Wrap
October 8, 2012 Monday 7:30 PM EST

The Foreign Language Film Oscar category will feature a record 71
films for consideration, including first-time entrant Kenya, the
Academy announced on Monday.

Among this year’s crop of films vying for the gold statuette are “The
Patience Stone” from Afghan filmmaker Atiq Rahimi; Armenian director
Natalia Belyauskene’s “If Only Everyone”; Lasse Hallström’s Swedish
contender “The Hypnotist” and “War Witch” from Canada’s Kim Nguyen.

Also read: Bruce Davis, Ron Yerxa Taking Over Oscar Foreign-Language
Committee Austria’s entry, “Michael Haneke’s “Amour,” has already
drawn critical praise since its debut on the film-festival circuit and
netted the Palme d’Or prize at Cannes last May. “The Intouchables,”
by French filmmakers Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, has both big
box-office momentum and popular appeal after racking up more than
$387 million in international ticket sales.

More to come …

Here’s the official release:

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – A record 71 countries, including first-time entrant
Kenya, have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language
Film category for the 85th Academy Awards®.

The 2012 submissions are: Afghanistan, “The Patience Stone,”
Atiq Rahimi, director; Albania, “Pharmakon,” Joni Shanaj, director;
Algeria, “Zabana!” Said Ould Khelifa, director; Argentina, “Clandestine
Childhood,” Benjamín Ávila, director; Armenia, “If Only Everyone,”
Natalia Belyauskene, director; Australia, “Lore,” Cate Shortland,
director; Austria, “Amour,” Michael Haneke, director; Azerbaijan,
“Buta,” Ilgar Najaf, director; Bangladesh, “Pleasure Boy Komola,”
Humayun Ahmed, director; Belgium, “Our Children,” Joachim Lafosse,
director; Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Children of Sarajevo,” Aida Begic,
director; Brazil, “The Clown,” Selton Mello, director; Bulgaria,
“Sneakers,” Valeri Yordanov and Ivan Vladimirov, directors; Cambodia,
“Lost Loves,” Chhay Bora, director; Canada, “War Witch,” Kim Nguyen,
director; Chile, “No,” Pablo Larraín, director; China, “Caught in the
Web,” Chen Kaige, director; Colombia, “The Snitch Cartel,” Carlos
Moreno, director; Croatia, “Vegetarian Cannibal,” Branko Schmidt,
director; Czech Republic, “In the Shadow,” David Ondrícek, director;
Denmark, “A Royal Affair,” Nikolaj Arcel, director; Dominican
Republic, “Jaque Mate,” José María Cabral, director; Estonia,
“Mushrooming,” Toomas Hussar, director; Finland, “Purge,” Antti
J. Jokinen, director; France, “The Intouchables,” Olivier Nakache and
Eric Toledano, directors; Georgia, “Keep Smiling,” Rusudan Chkonia,
director; Germany, “Barbara,” Christian Petzold, director; Greece,
“Unfair World,” Filippos Tsitos, director; Greenland, “Inuk,” Mike
Magidson, director; Hong Kong, “Life without Principle,” Johnnie To,
director; Hungary, “Just the Wind,” Bence Fliegauf, director; Iceland,
“The Deep,” Baltasar Kormákur, director; India, “Barfi!” Anurag Basu,
director; Indonesia, “The Dancer,” Ifa Isfansyah, director; Israel,
“Fill the Void,” Rama Burshtein, director; Italy, “Caesar Must Die,”
Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani, directors; Japan, “Our Homeland,”
Yang Yonghi, director; Kazakhstan, “Myn Bala: Warriors of the
Steppe,” Akan Satayev, director; Kenya, “Nairobi Half Life,” David
‘Tosh’ Gitonga, director; Kyrgyzstan, “The Empty Home,” Nurbek Egen,
director; Latvia, “Gulf Stream under the Iceberg,” Yevgeny Pashkevich,
director; Lithuania, “Ramin,” Audrius Stonys, director; Macedonia,
“The Third Half,” Darko Mitrevski, director; Malaysia, “Bunohan,”
Dain Iskandar Said, director; Mexico, “After Lucia,” Michel Franco,
director; Morocco, “Death for Sale,” Faouzi Bensaïdi, director;
Netherlands, “Kauwboy,” Boudewijn Koole, director; Norway, “Kon-Tiki,”
Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, directors; Palestine, “When I
Saw You,” Annemarie Jacir, director; Peru, “The Bad Intentions,”
Rosario García-Montero, director; Philippines, “Bwakaw,” Jun Robles
Lana, director; Poland, “80 Million,” Waldemar Krzystek, director;
Portugal, “Blood of My Blood,” João Canijo, director; Romania, “Beyond
the Hills,” Cristian Mungiu, director; Russia, “White Tiger,” Karen
Shakhnazarov, director; Serbia, “When Day Breaks,” Goran Paskaljevic,
director; Singapore, “Already Famous,” Michelle Chong, director; Slovak
Republic, “Made in Ash,” Iveta Grófová, director; Slovenia, “A Trip,”
Nejc Gazvoda, director; South Africa, “Little One,” Darrell James
Roodt, director; South Korea, “Pieta,” Kim Ki-duk, director; Spain,
“Blancanieves,” Pablo Berger, director; Sweden, “The Hypnotist,” Lasse
Hallström, director; Switzerland, “Sister,” Ursula Meier, director;
Taiwan, “Touch of the Light,” Chang Jung-Chi, director; Thailand,
“Headshot,” Pen-ek Ratanaruang, director; Turkey, “Where the Fire
Burns,” Ismail Gunes, director; Ukraine, “The Firecrosser,” Mykhailo
Illienko, director; Uruguay, “The Delay,” Rodrigo Plá, director;
Venezuela, “Rock, Paper, Scissors,” Hernán Jabes, director; Vietnam,
“The Scent of Burning Grass,” Nguyen Huu Muoi, director.

The 85th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday,
January 10, 2013, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn
Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2012 will be
presented on Sunday, February 24, 2013, at The Dolby Theatre(TM) at
Hollywood Highland Center®, and televised live on the ABC Television
Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more
than 225 countries worldwide.

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