UPDATE: The total is now 60 films as Steve Pond at The Wrap informs us the Domenican Republic’s submission La hija natural has been accepted. He also says we should expect four or five more films to be added to the list by the time things are said and done. My original post follows…
The deadline for countries to submit films for consideration at this year’s Oscars was Monday, October 3 and this year’s list is a little lighter than last (so far) as 60 countries have offered up submissions compared to 66 last year and 67 the year before that. Looking over the complete list, which I have included directly below and can always be viewed in my “The Contenders” section right here, there are a few that stand out based on what I’ve heard, but then again, this is the first year I can ever remember where I haven’t seen a single one of the entries.
From rumblings online and via email I’d say the titles to keep an eye on include Zhang Yimou’s The War of Flowers, Aki Kaurismaki’s Le Havre, Joseph Cedar’s Footnote, Asghar Farhadi’s Nader and Simin, A Separation, Nadine Labaki’s Toronto Film Festival winner Where Do We Go Now?, Gerardo Naranjo’s Miss Bala, Agnieszka Holland’s In Darkness and Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Cannes Grand Prix co-winner Once Upon a Time in Anatolia.
Perhaps the most interesting of the bunch is Uruguay’s submission Gustavo Hernandez’s The Silent House, a horror film sold as a film shot in one single take that has already been remade into an American feature starring Martha, Marcy, May, Marlene breakout star Elisabeth Olsen. It’s also the one film of the 59 I can actually watch as I have a screener sitting right here on my desk. Hopefully the same can be said for others as we move closer to mid-January when the shortlist is announced in advance of the Oscar nominations, which are set for the morning of Tuesday, January 24.
While the Academy is yet to make any kind of official announcement, below are all 60 Foreign Language submissions with links to additional information, either here on RopeofSilicon.com or on IMDB.
Afghanistan to France
- Albania, The Forgiveness of Blood (dir. Joshua Marston)
- Argentina, Aballay (dir. Fernando Spiner)
- Austria, Breathing (dir. Karl Markovics)
- Belgium, Bullhead (dir. Michael R. Roskam)
- Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belvedere (dir. Ahmed Imamovic)
- Brazil, Tropa de Elite 2 (dir. Jose Padilha)
- Bulgaria, Tilt (dir. Viktor Chouchkov)
- Canada, Monsieur Lazhar (dir. Philippe Falardeau)
- Chile, Violeta (dir. Andres Wood)
- China, The War of Flowers (dir. Zhang Yimou)
- Colombia, The Colors of the Mountain (dir. Carlos Cesar Arbelaez)
- Croatia, 72 Days (dir. Danilo Serbedzija)
- Cuba, Habanastation (dir. Ian Padron)
- Czech Republic, Alois Nebel (dir. Tomas Lunak)
- Denmark, SuperClasico (dir. Ole Christian Madsen)
- Dominican Republic, La hija natural (dir. Leticia Tonos)
- Egypt, Lust (dir. Khalid Al-Haggar)
- Finland, Le Havre (dir. Aki Kaurismaki)
- France, Declaration of War (dir. Valerie Donzelli)
Georgia to Morocco
- Georgia, Chantrapas (dir. Otar Iosseliani)
- Germany, Pina (dir. Wim Wenders)
- Greece, Attenberg (dir. Athena Rachel Tsagkari)
- Hong Kong, A Simple Life (dir. Ann Hui)
- Hungary, The Turin Horse (dir. Bela Tarr)
- Iceland, Volcano (dir. Runar Runarsson)
- India, Adaminte Makan Abu (dir. Salim Ahamed)
- Iran, Nader and Simin, A Separation (dir. Asghar Farhadi)
- Ireland, As If I Am Not There (dir. )
- Israel, Footnote (dir. Joseph Cedar)
- Italy, Terraferma (dir. Emanuele Crialese)
- Japan, Postcard (dir. Kaneto Shind?)
- Lebanon, Where Do We Go Now? (dir. Nadine Labaki)
- Lithuania, Back to Your Arms (dir. Kristijonas Vildzicnas)
- Macedonia, Punk’s Not Dead (dir. Vladimir Blazevski)
- Mexico, Miss Bala (dir. Gerardo Naranjo)
- Morocco, Omar Killed Me (dir. Roschdy Zem)
Netherlands to Venezuela
- Netherlands, Sonny Boy (dir. Maria Peters)
- New Zealand, The Orator (dir. Tusi Tamasese)
- Norway, Happy, Happy (dir. Anne Sewitsky)
- Peru, October (dir. Daniel Vega Vidal)
- Philippines, The Woman in the Septic Tank (dir. Marlon Rivera)
- Poland, In Darkness (dir. Agnieszka Holland)
- Portugal, Jose and Pilar (dir. Miguel Gonçalves Mendes)
- Romania, Morgen (dir. Marian Crisan)
- Russia, Burnt by the Sun 2: Citadel (dir. Nikita Mikhalkov)
- Serbia, Montevideo, God Bless You! (dir. Dragan Bjelogrlic)
- Singapore, Tatsumi (dir. Eric Khoo)
- Slovakia, Gypsy (dir. Martin Sulik)
- Slovenia, Silent Sonata (dir. Janez Burger)
- South Africa, Beauty (dir. Oliver Hermanus)
- South Korea, The Front Line (dir. Jang Hun)
- Spain, Black Bread (dir. Agusti Villaronga)
- Sweden, Beyond (dir. Pernilla August)
- Switzerland, Summer Games (dir. Rolando Colla)
- Taiwan, Seediq Bale (dir. Wei Te-Sheng)
- Thailand, Kon Khon (dir. Sarunyu Wongkrachang)
- Turkey, Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan)
- Uruguay, The Silent House (dir. Gustavo Hernandez)
- Venezuela, The Rumble of the Stones (dir. Alejandro Bellame)
- Vietnam, Thang Long Aspiration (dir. Luu Trong Ninh)
