(Press release)
67 Countries Vying for 2008 Foreign Language Film Oscar®
Beverly Hills, CA — A record 67 countries, including first-time entrant Jordan, have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 81st Academy Awards®, Academy President Sid Ganis announced today.
The 2008 submissions are:
Afghanistan, “Opium War,” Siddiq Barmak, director;
Albania, “The Sorrow of Mrs. Schneider,” Piro Milkani and Eno Milkani, directors;
Algeria, “Masquerades,” Lyes Salem, director;
Argentina, “Lion’s Den,” Pablo Trapero, director;
Austria, “Revanche,” Gotz Spielmann, director;
Azerbaijan, “Fortress,” Shamil Nacafzada, director;
Bangladesh, “Aha!,” Enamul Karim Nirjhar, director;
Belgium, “Eldorado,” Bouli Lanners, director;
Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Snow,” Aida Begic, director;
Brazil, “Last Stop 174,” Bruno Barreto, director;
Bulgaria, “Zift,” Javor Gardev, director;
Canada, “The Necessities of Life,” Benoit Pilon, director;
Chile, “Tony Manero,” Pablo Larrain, director;
China, “Dream Weavers,” Jun Gu, director;
Colombia, “Dog Eat Dog,” Carlos Moreno, director;
Croatia, “No One’s Son,” Arsen Anton Ostojic, director;
Czech Republic, “The Karamazovs,” Petr Zelenka, director;
Denmark, “Worlds Apart,” Niels Arden Oplev, director;
Egypt, “The Island,” Sherif Arafa, director;
Estonia, “I Was Here,” Rene Vilbre, director;
Finland, “The Home of Dark Butterflies,” Dome Karukoski, director;
France, “The Class,” Laurent Cantet, director;
Georgia, “Mediator,” Dito Tsintsadze, director;
Germany, “The Baader Meinhof Complex,” Uli Edel, director;
Greece, “Correction,” Thanos Anastopoulos, director;
Hong Kong, “Painted Skin,” Gordon Chan, director;
Hungary, “Iska’s Journey,” Csaba Bollok, director;
Iceland, “White Night Wedding,” Baltasar Kormakur, director
India, “Taare Zameen Par,” Aamir Khan, director;
Iran, “The Song of Sparrows,” Majid Majidi, director;
Israel, “Waltz with Bashir,” Ari Folman, director;
Italy, “Gomorra,” Matteo Garrone, director;
Japan, “Departures,” Yojiro Takita, director;
Jordan, “Captain Abu Raed,” Amin Matalqa, director;
Kazakhstan, “Tulpan,” Sergey Dvortsevoy, director; (pictured above)
Korea, “Crossing,” Tae-kyun Kim, director;
Kyrgyzstan, “Heavens Blue,” Marie Jaoul de Poncheville, director;
Latvia, “Defenders of Riga,” Aigars Grauba, director;
Lebanon, “Under the Bombs,” Philippe Aractingi, director;
Lithuania, “Loss,” Maris Martinsons, director;
Luxembourg, “Nuits d’Arabie,” Paul Kieffer, director;
Macedonia, “I’m from Titov Veles,” Teona Strugar Mitevska, director;
Mexico, “Tear This Heart Out,” Roberto Sneider, director;
Morocco, “Goodbye Mothers,” Mohamed Ismail, director
The Netherlands, “Dunya & Desie,” Dana Nechushtan, director;
Norway, “O’Horten,” Bent Hamer, director;
Palestine, “Salt of This Sea” Annemarie Jacir, director;
Philippines, “Ploning,” Dante Nico Garcia, director;
Poland, “Tricks,” Andrzej Jakimowski, director;
Portugal, “Our Beloved Month of August,” Miguel Gomes, director;
Romania, “The Rest Is Silence,” Nae Caranfil, director;
Russia, “Mermaid,” Anna Melikyan, director;
Serbia, “The Tour,” Goran Markovic, director;
Singapore, “My Magic,” Eric Khoo, director;
Slovakia, “Blind Loves,” Juraj Lehotsky, director;
Slovenia, “Rooster’s Breakfast,” Marko Nabersnik, director;
South Africa, “Jerusalema,” Ralph Ziman, director;
Spain, “The Blind Sunflowers,” Jose Luis Cuerda, director;
Sweden, “Everlasting Moments,” Jan Troell, director;
Switzerland, “The Friend,” Micha Lewinsky, director;
Taiwan, “Cape No. 7,” Te-Sheng Wei, director;
Thailand, “Love of Siam,” Chookiat Sakveerakul, director;
Turkey, “3 Monkeys,” Nuri Bilge Ceylan, director;
Ukraine, “Illusion of Fear,” Aleksandr Kiriyenko, director;
United Kingdom, “Hope Eternal,” Karl Francis, director;
Uruguay, “Kill Them All,” Esteban Schroeder, director;
Venezuela, “The Color of Fame,” Alejandro Bellame Palacios, director.
As per Academy rule, the Oscar Foreign Film committee will announce a shortlist of the nine highest-rated films from among the national submissions. A smaller committee was then created to narrow down the list to the five films which will be nominated for the Oscar.
Hmmmm... This year's line-up isn't groundbreaking after all. Considering last year's omissions (
4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days; Secret Sunshine; Silent Light; Persepolis), we can only expect the unexpected. But then...
MY TOP NINE SHORTLIST (based on festival circuit reception, national impact, and expected Academy response)
Austria, "Revanche"France, "The Class" (Palme d'Or, 61st Cannes FF; Official Selection, 46th New York FF)
Italy, "Gomorrah" (Grand Prize of the Jury, 61st Cannes FF; Official Selection, 46th New York FF; January 2009 North American release-IFP Films)
Jordan, "Captain Abu Raed" (World Cinema Audience Award winner, Sundance FF Kazakhstan, "Tulpan" (Camera d'Or, 61st Cannes FF; Official Selection, 46th New York FF; Toronto FF)
Norway, "O'Horten"Russia, "The Mermaid" (Official Selection, Sundance FF)
Spain, "The Blind Sunflowers"Sweden, "Maria Larsson's Everlasting Moments" (from the Oscar nominated director of Best Picture and Best Foreign Language Film nominee "The Emigrants")
