I have officially begun tracking the Oscar submissions for the Best Foreign Language category at the 2014 Oscars as Greece, Hungary, Nepal and Romania have officially submitted the first four films for this year’s race.
We already know one of the year’s most talked about films and festival stand out after Cannes, Blue is the Warmest Color, won’t be eligible for the Foreign Language race due to release requirements as the film won’t hit French cinemas until after the submission date cut-off. Yet, it seems a lesbian drama will find its way into contention.
Director Subarna Thapa‘s Soongava: Dance of the Orchids is Nepal’s official selection and it stars Deeya Maskey, Nisha Adhikari, Saugat Malla, Bashundara Bhusal and Nirmal Nisar. I’ve included the trailer to the right and the synopsis from the Palm Springs Film Festival below.
Beautiful Diya is a young girl who dreams of becoming a professional Nepalese dancer, encouraged by her best girlfriend Kiran. Meanwhile Diya’s parents have found a good match for her and arranged her engagement. Diya goes along with the arrangement to please her family and do what is expected of her, but when her feelings for Kiran deepen and develop into a full-blown love affair, she has to make a choice. Flying in the face of tradition and local morals in a society deeply rooted in family values, Diya breaks off with her fiancé, risking everything to live with Kiran in Kathmandu.
This is the first Nepalese film on same sex relationships, a rarely talked about subject in Nepal. In 2007 the Supreme Court ruled that the government must create a new law to protect LGBT rights, but still many gays and lesbians live with the fear of being ostracized and worse.
Greece has submitted Ektoras Lygizos‘ Boy Eating the Bird’s Food, a film based on the 1890 novel, “Hunger” ([amazon asin=”B00847ZPUQ” text=”get it free for your Amazon Kindle”]), by Nobel Prize-winner and Nazi sympathizer Knut Hamsun, which played the Toronto Film Festival last year. The story follows an unemployed 22-year-old boy in Athens with no money, no girlfriend and no food to eat. He has only a canary bird and a beautiful singing voice. When he finds himself without a home, he must seek shelter for his bird. Watch the trailer to the right.
Hungary has submit János Szász‘s The Notebook (A Nagy Füzet), which will play in the Contemporary World Cinema section of this year’s Toronto Film Festival. The story is set in a village on the Hungarian border, where two young brothers grow up during wartime with their cruel grandmother and must learn every trick of evil to survive in the absurd world of adults. The film stars Ulrich Thomsen and Ulrich Matthes.
Finally, Romania has submit Calin Peter Netzer‘s Child’s Pose, which premiered in competition at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year and won the Golden Bear and it too will play this year’s Toronto Film Festival.
The story centers on a well-to-do, well-connected Bucharest society lady named Cornelia (Luminita Gheorghiu) who takes the driver’s seat when her 34-year-old son gets involved in a deadly accident. Through her stifling love, she’s kept the hard realities of life away from him.
You can stay up-to-date with all the Foreign Language Oscar submissions for this year right here as I will continue to update them as often and frequently as possible.
