OSCAR
RACE 2008
commentary
by Nathaniel R
days
until Oscar Nomination are announced
_Afghanistan |
_to_ |
_France |
FOREIGN OSCAR RECORDS / 2007 -LAST YEAR'S RACE
Official Contenders
Afghanistan to France / Georgia to Morocco / The Netherlands to Venezuela01/07 Additional info and posters filled in. The Finalist list should be out shortly.
10/17 This is the OFFICIAL SUBMISSION LIST. 67 Countries are competing for the five nominations this year.
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| Afghanistan never nominated Opium War d. Siddiq Barmak |
Albania never nominated The Sorrow of Mrs Schneider d. Piro and Eno Milkani |
Algeria 4 noms / 1 win Mascarades d. Lyes Salem |
Austria |
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Janus
/ Criterion March 2009 |
details ? min (?) genre ? starring Joe Suba and Peter Bussian synopsis Wounded American soldiers discover a Russian tank inhabited by Afghanis |
details ? min (?) genre ? starring Anna Geislerova, Nik Xhelilaj, Barbora Stepanova, Tomas Topfer, Michelle Placido synopsis Film school students in the 1960s film their graduate project about a motorcycle factory |
details ? min (?) genre ? starring Lyes Salem, Sara Reguigue, Mohamed Bouchaib and Rym Takoucht synopsis A villager eager for approval from his peers and to get his spinster sister out of his way, concocts a story about a suitor -- the story takes on a life of its own |
details 113 min (Spanish) genre Drama starring Martina Gusman, Elli Medeiros and Rodrigo Santoro (300) synopsis A mother, convicted of murder, tries to raise her child from behind bars |
details 121 min (German) genre Drama starring Johannes Kirsch, Ursula Strauss and Andrea Lust synopsis An ex con in hiding forms an unlikely relationship with a married woman and her husband, a police officer misc info this festival favorite has a few prizes under its belt already and may fare well at the European Film Awards (it's on the long list of finalist) |
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Azerbaijan never nominated Fortress (Qala) d. Shamil Nacafzada |
Bangladesh never nominated Aha! d. Enamul Karim Nirjhar |
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details ? min (?) genre ? starring Rasim Balayev, Firangiz Mutallimova, Arif Maharramov, Aziz Mammadov synopsis ? |
details 128 min (Bangla) genre Drama starring Tariq Anam Khan, Shahldul Alam Sachchu and Sathi Yasmin synopsis An old owner of an ancestral mansion is pressured to demolish his property, now surrounded by high rise apartments misc This is Enamul Karim Nirjhar's debut feature |
details 80 min (French) genre Road Trip / Dramedy starring Bouli Lanners, Fabrice Adde synopsis A man befriends a young burglar he finds in his own whom he suspects to be a drug addict |
details 100 min (English and Bosnian) genre Drama starring Zana Marjanovic, Jasna Ornela Bery, Sadzida Setic, Vesna Masic synopsis An approaching storm and two businessmen interrupt the carefully constructed war-torn lives of four women in a remote village |
details 110 min (Portugese) genre Drama based on a true story starring Michel de Souza, Chris Vianna, Marceloo Melo Jr, Gabriela Luiz synopsis A retelling of a Rio de Janeiro bus hijacking in June 2000 |
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China 1 nomination Dream Weavers (Zhu Meng 2008) d. Gu Jun |
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IFC
Films -TBA |
details 92 min (Bulgarian) genre Drama starring Zahary Baharov, Tanya Ilieva and Vladimir Penev synopsis A wrongly convicted prisoner is freed on parole. 60s Bulgaria is foreign to him after many years in jail. misc info in Black and White |
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details 98 min (Spanish) genre Drama starring Alfredo Castro, Paola Lattus, Hector Morales, Amparo Noguera and Elsa Poblete synopsis A violent man is obsessed with recreating Saturday Night Live on stage and winning a Tony Manero lookalike contest in Pinochet era Chile NYFF thoughts I admire Chile's cojones but AMPAS will never go for this: explicit sex and extremely disturbing brutality |
genre Documentary on the Beijing Olympics |
details 106 min (Spanish) genre Crime Drama starring Marlon Moreno, Oscar Borda, Alvaro Rodriguez, Blas Jaramillo, Andres Toro synopsis Two criminals break an unwritten rule and suffer the consequences |
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Egypt never nominated The Island d. Sherif Arafa |
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IFC
FILMS -tba |
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details |
details 116 min (Danish) genre Romantic Drama starring Rosaline Mynster, Pilou Asbaek, Jens Jørn Spottag synopsis An interfaith romance. A Jehovah Witness woman falls for someone outside the family faith |
details ? min (?) genre Crime Drama starring Ahmed El Sakka, Mahmoud Yassine, Bassem Samra, Hend Sabri synopsis Drug lord battles on El Gezira (The Island) when an old ruler dies and his son takes over. |
details 90 min (Estonian) genre Drama starring Rasmus Kaljujärv, Margus Prangel, Hele Köre, Marilyn Jurman synopsis A teenager living alone in a slum, agrees to sell drugs. His life becomes turbulent. |
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Next: GEORGIA through MEXICO
A
round of applause for contributing readers: Academy
Rejections / Disqualifications |
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Finland 1 nomination The Home of the Dark Butterflies d. Dome Karukoski |
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| no US distributor | Sony
Pictures Classics -December |
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details 108 min (Finnish) genre Drama (Based on a Novel) starring Niilo Syväoja, Tommi Korpela, Eero Milonoff, Roope Karisto synopsis A teenager who has had a tramautic childhood is sent to live at an isolate boys home "The Island" |
details 128 min (French) genre (Based on a Book) starring François Bégaudeau and real life students synopsis an improvised recreation of Parisian junior high class dynamics misc info Excellent film! But very subtle for what Oscar usually goes for. Won the Palme D'Or at Cannes this year. Cantet's previous critical hits include Human Resources and Time Out |
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