List of submissions to the 81st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited the film industries of various countries to submit their best film for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film every year since the award was created in 1956.[1] The award is handed out annually by the Academy to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue.[1][2] The Foreign Language Film Award Committee oversees the process and reviews all the submitted films.[2]
For the 81st Academy Awards, the Academy invited 96 countries to submit films for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.[3] Only one film was accepted from each country, and the deadline by which copies of all submitted films must be sent to the Academy was October 1, 2008.[2] The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released its official list of submissions on October 17, 2008.[4] Submission of a film does not mean automatic qualification for competition: the Academy has the final word on eligibility and has in the past disqualified several submissions.
The Oscar Foreign Film Committee began screening the foreign film entries on October 17, 2008. A shortlist of nine semi-finalists was announced January 13, 2009.[5] Due to a new rule, only six films on the shortlist were decided based on the votes of the at-large committee. The other three were selected by the Academy's foreign film executive committee.[5][6]
The official nominees were announced on January 22, 2009.[7] The winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film was Japan's Departures.[8]
Submissions
The following is based upon the official list by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[4][5]
Submitting country | Film title used in nomination | Original title | Language(s) | Director(s) | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Afghanistan | Opium War | Opium War | Dari, English | Barmak, SiddiqSiddiq Barmak | Not Nominated |
Albania | The Sorrow of Mrs. Schneider | Trishtimi i zonjës Shnajder | Albanian, Czech | Eno Milkani and Piro Milkani | Not Nominated |
Algeria | Masquerades | Mascarades | Algerian Arabic, French | Salem, LyesLyes Salem | Not Nominated |
Argentina | Lion's Den | Leonera | Spanish | Trapero, PabloPablo Trapero | Not Nominated |
Austria | Revanche | Revanche | German | Spielmann, GötzGötz Spielmann | Nominated |
Azerbaijan | Fortress | Qala | Azeri | Nacafzade, ShamilShamil Nacafzade | Not Nominated |
Bangladesh | Aha! | আহা! | Bengali | Nirjhar , Enamul KarimEnamul Karim Nirjhar | Not Nominated |
Belgium | Eldorado | Eldorado | French | Lanners, BouliBouli Lanners | Not Nominated |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Snow | Snijeg | Bosnian | Begić, AidaAida Begić | Not Nominated |
Brazil | Last Stop 174 | Última Parada 174 | Portuguese | Barreto, BrunoBruno Barreto | Not Nominated |
Bulgaria | Zift | Дзифт | Bulgarian | Gardev, JavorJavor Gardev | Not Nominated |
Canada | The Necessities of Life | Ce qu'il faut pour vivre Inuujjutiksaq |
French, Inuktitut | Pilon, BenoîtBenoît Pilon | Made January Shortlist |
Chile | Tony Manero | Tony Manero | Spanish | Larraín , PabloPablo Larraín | Not Nominated |
China | Dream Weavers: Beijing 2008 | 筑梦 | Mandarin | Gu, YunYun Gu | Not Nominated |
Colombia | Dog Eat Dog | Perro come Perro | Spanish | Moreno, CarlosCarlos Moreno | Not Nominated |
Croatia | No One's Son | Ničiji Sin | Croatian | Ostojić, Arsen AntonArsen Anton Ostojić | Not Nominated |
Czech Republic | The Karamazovs | Karamazovi | Czech, Polish | Zelenka, PetrPetr Zelenka | Not Nominated |
Denmark | Worlds Apart | To verdener | Danish | Oplev, Niels ArdenNiels Arden Oplev | Not Nominated |
Egypt | The Island | الجزيرة | Egyptian Arabic | Arafa, SherifSherif Arafa | Not Nominated |
Estonia | I Was Here | Mina olin siin. Esimene arest | Estonian | René Vilbre | Not Nominated |
Finland | The Home of Dark Butterflies | Tummien perhosten koti | Finnish | Karukoski, DomeDome Karukoski | Not Nominated |
France | The Class | Entre les murs |
French | Cantet, LaurentLaurent Cantet | Nominated |
Georgia | Mediator | Mediator | German, Russian, English | Tsintsadze, DitoDito Tsintsadze | Not Nominated |
Germany | The Baader Meinhof Complex | Der Baader Meinhof Komplex | German | Edel, UliUli Edel | Nominated |
Greece | Correction | Διόρθωση | Greek | Anastopoulos, ThanosThanos Anastopoulos | Not Nominated |
Hong Kong | Painted Skin | 畫皮 | Mandarin | Chan, GordonGordon Chan | Not Nominated |
Hungary | Iska's Journey | Iszka utazása | Hungarian | Bollók , CsabaCsaba Bollók | Not Nominated |
Iceland | White Night Wedding | Brúðguminn | Icelandic | Kormákur, BaltasarBaltasar Kormákur | Not Nominated |
India | Taare Zameen Par | Taare Zameen Par तारे ज़मीन पर |
Hindi | Khan, AamirAamir Khan | Not Nominated |
Iran | The Song of Sparrows | آواز گنجشکها | Persian | Majidi, MajidMajid Majidi | Not Nominated |
Israel | Waltz with Bashir | ואלס עם באשיר | Hebrew | Folman, AriAri Folman | Nominated |
Italy | Gomorra | Gomorra | Neapolitan | Garrone , MatteoMatteo Garrone | Not Nominated |
Japan | Departures | おくりびと | Japanese | Takita, YojiroYojiro Takita | Won Academy Award |
Jordan | Captain Abu Raed | كابتن أبو رائد | Jordanian Arabic | Matalqa, AminAmin Matalqa | Not Nominated |
Kazakhstan | Tulpan | Тюльпан | Kazakh | Dvortsevoy, SergeySergey Dvortsevoy | Not Nominated |
Kyrgyzstan | Heaven's Blue | Тенгри | Kyrgyz | de Ponchville, Marie-JaoulMarie-Jaoul de Ponchville | Not Nominated |
Latvia | Defenders of Riga | Rīgas sargi | Latvian | Grauba, AigarsAigars Grauba | Not Nominated |
Lebanon | Under the Bombs | Sous les Bombes تحت القصف |
Lebanese Arabic, French | Aractingi, PhilippePhilippe Aractingi | Not Nominated |
Lithuania | Loss | Nereikalingi žmonės | Lithuanian | Māris Martinsons | Not Nominated |
Luxembourg | Nuits d'Arabie | Nuits d'Arabie | French, Letzebuergesch | Kieffer, PaulPaul Kieffer | Not Nominated |
Macedonia | I'm From Titov Veles | Јас сум од Титов Велес | Macedonian | Strugar-Mitevska, TeonaTeona Strugar-Mitevska | Not Nominated |
Mexico | Tear This Heart Out | Arráncame la vida | Spanish | Sneider, RobertoRoberto Sneider | Made January Shortlist |
Morocco | Goodbye Mothers | Adieu Mères | French, Moroccan Arabic | Ismail, MohamedMohamed Ismail | Not Nominated |
Netherlands | Dunya and Desi | Dunya en Desi in Marokko | Dutch, Moroccan Arabic | Nechushtan, DanaDana Nechushtan | Not Nominated |
Norway | O' Horten | O' Horten | Norwegian | Hamer, BentBent Hamer | Not Nominated |
Palestine | Salt of this Sea | ملح هذا البحر | Palestinian Arabic | Jacir, AnnemarieAnnemarie Jacir | Not Nominated |
Philippines | Ploning | Ploning | Cuyonon, Filipino, Tagalog, Taiwanese | Garcia, Dante NicoDante Nico Garcia | Not Nominated |
Poland | Tricks | Sztuczki | Polish | Jakimowski, AndrzejAndrzej Jakimowski | Not Nominated |
Portugal | Our Beloved Month of August | Aquele Querido Mês de Agosto | Portuguese | Gomes, MiguelMiguel Gomes | Not Nominated |
Romania | The Rest is Silence | Restul e tăcere | Romanian | Caranfil, NaeNae Caranfil | Not Nominated |
Russia | Mermaid | Русалка | Russian | Melikyan, AnnaAnna Melikyan | Not Nominated |
Serbia | The Tour | Turneja | Serbian | Marković, GoranGoran Marković | Not Nominated |
Singapore | My Magic | My Magic | Tamil | Khoo, EricEric Khoo | Not Nominated |
Slovakia | Blind Loves | Slepé lásky | Slovak | Lehotsky, JurajJuraj Lehotsky | Not Nominated |
Slovenia | Rooster's Breakfast | Petelinji zajtrk | Slovene | Naberšnik, MarkoMarko Naberšnik | Not Nominated |
South Africa | Jerusalema | Jerusalema | Afrikaans, English, Zulu, Xhosa | Ziman, RalphRalph Ziman | Not Nominated |
South Korea | Crossing | 크로싱 | Korean | Kim Tae-kyun | Not Nominated |
Spain | The Blind Sunflowers | Los girasoles ciegos |
Spanish | Cuerda , José LuisJosé Luis Cuerda | Not Nominated |
Sweden | Everlasting Moments | Maria Larssons eviga ögonblick | Swedish | Jan Troell | Made January Shortlist |
Switzerland | The Friend | Der Freund | Swiss German | Micha Lewinsky | Not Nominated |
Taiwan | Cape No. 7 | 海角七號 | Taiwanese, Japanese, Mandarin | Te-sheng Wei | Not Nominated |
Thailand | Love of Siam | รักแห่งสยาม | Thai | Chookiat Sakveerakul | Not Nominated |
Turkey | Three Monkeys | Üç Maymun | Turkish | Nuri Bilge Ceylan | Made January Shortlist |
Ukraine | The Illusion of Fear | Ілюзія страху | Ukrainian | Kirienko, AleksandrAleksandr Kirienko | Not Nominated |
United Kingdom | Hope Eternal | Hope Eternal | Welsh, Bemba, Swahili, French, German, English | Francis, KarlKarl Francis | Not Nominated |
Uruguay | Kill Them All | Matar a Todos | Spanish | Esteban Schroeder | Not Nominated |
Venezuela | The Color of Fame | El tinte de la fama | Spanish | Alejandro Bellame | Not Nominated |
Not submitting
Bolivia[9] and Puerto Rico,[10] formally announced at the end of September that they would not be participating in this year's competition.
Vietnam's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism launched an open call for films to represent the country, but only received one entry - Vuong Duc's Rừng đen (Black Forest). On September 29, the Ministry decided not to send any film since Forest did not meet Oscar requirements to have run one consecutive week in a commercial cinema.[11]
Among the around 30 other countries invited, only six - Australia, Cuba, Indonesia, Iraq, Nepal and Peru - have had films accepted to the competition three or more times in the last ten years.[12]
Other Notes
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that a "record 67-strong" list of films were submitted for the competition.[13] The Middle Eastern kingdom of Jordan submitted a film for the first time[14] and Latvia returned to the competition after a 15-year absence.[15] In addition, the South Korean submission Crossing was initially in question when it was accused of plagiarism by a rival writer. The Korean Film Council said it would select another submission if Crossing was found guilty, but the case was ultimately dismissed and the film was retained.[16]
See also
- List of Academy Award winners and nominees for Best Foreign Language Film
- 81st Academy Awards
- List of Academy Award-winning foreign language films
References
- General
- "67 Countries Vying for 2008 Foreign Language Film Oscar". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 2007-10-17. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
- Giles, Jeff (January 13, 2009). "Academy Names Nine Foreign Film Finalists". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2009-01-13.
- Specific
- 1 2 "History of the Academy Awards - Page 2". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 2008-06-22. Retrieved 2008-06-23.
- 1 2 3 "Special Rules for the Best Foreign Language Film Award". 81st Academy Awards Rules for Distinguished Achievements in 2008. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on September 15, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
- ↑ "96 Countries to Receive Entry Forms for 2008 Foreign Language Film Oscar" (Press release). Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 2008-06-24. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
- 1 2 "67 Countries Vying for 2008 Foreign Language Film Oscar". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 2007-10-17. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
- 1 2 3 "9 Foreign Language Films Advance in 2008 Oscar Race". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. January 13, 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-14.
- ↑ "Wide-open foreign-film Oscar race begins". Los Angeles Times. 2008-10-16. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
- ↑ "General Timetable of the 81st Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 2008-08-22. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
- ↑ "2009 Oscar scorecard". Los Angeles Times. 2009-02-22. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
- ↑ "Bolivia no presentará candidatura a Óscar porque filmes no cumplen requisitos". Yahoo Espanol. 2008-09-27. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
- ↑ "Puerto Rico no propondrá película para la edición de este año de los Óscar". Yahoo Argentina. 2008-09-29. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
- ↑ "Vietnam has no Oscar nominee". VietnamNet Bridge. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-01.
- ↑ http://www.oscars.org/press/index.html Press Releases October 17, 2007, October 19, 2006, October 25, 2005, October 22, 2004, October 20, 2003, December 2, 2002, November 19, 2001, November 20, 2000, November 22, 1999, November 24, 1998
- ↑ "Record 67 films enter Oscars foreign film race". AP. 2008-10-17. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
- ↑ "Jordan has first film to compete for Oscar". Xinhua News Agency. 2008-09-05. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
- ↑ "Latvija in brief - 2008-10-15". The Baltic Times. 2008-10-15. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
- ↑ Sunhee, Han (2008-08-07). "S. Korea picks Crossing for Oscars". Variety. Retrieved 2008-08-23.