The Academy has just released the nine final films up for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 81st Academy Awards from a previous list of 65.
I have listed the nine films below and placed in bold my predictions for the five nominees.
- Austria, Revanche, Gotz Spielmann, director
- Canada, The Necessities of Life, Benoit Pilon, director
- France, The Class, Laurent Cantet, director
- Germany, The Baader Meinhof Complex, Uli Edel, director
- Israel, Waltz with Bashir, Ari Folman, director
- Japan, Departures, Yojiro Takita, director
- Mexico, Tear This Heart Out, Roberto Sneider, director
- Sweden, Everlasting Moments, Jan Troell, director
- Turkey, 3 Monkeys, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, director
The shortlist will be winnowed down to the five 2008 nominees by specially selected committees in New York and Los Angeles. The committee members will spend this Friday, Saturday and Sunday viewing three of the films each day.
The 81st Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Thursday, January 22, 2009, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.
