Best Foreign Language Film
Official Submission List
Albania to France / Georgia to The Netherlands / Norway to Vietnam
Once upon a time The Film Experience was virtually the only website that compiled all this information. Now, virtually every awards site and many random movie sites cover the foreign language film submissions as they are announced. I'm no longer the soul source of info for this category -- something that fills me with both joy (people are paying attention...) and panicky melancholy (...and they don't have to pay attention to me to do it!) -- but I still compile them in the most comprehensive chart for the ease of your reference. Information herein is culled from all over the web, official sites, trades, e-mails from international readers and film professionals and my own research.
Related: Google map of this category | Oscar records by country |2008 Foreign Language Race
| Albania
to France |
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Argentina 5 noms / 1 win El Secreto de Tus Ojos (The Secret of Her Eyes) Juan José Campanella Trailer |
Austria |
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why
doesn't this have US distribution yet? So weird |
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details 90 min (Albanian) genre Drama starring Nik Xhelilaj (the poster boy above), Bessart Kallaku and Bruno Shilaku synopsis a young man, out to enjoy his life to the fullest, is suddenly held responsible for an old family crime misc Here's a review from TFE friend Boyd van Hoeij |
details ... min (...) genre drama starring Ricardo Darin (frequent star of Argentinian submissions), Soledad Villamil, Pablo Rago synopsis A detective out to solve a 30 year old cold case misc This director/actor pair was previously nom'ed for Son of the Bride not selected Luisa directed by Gonzalo Calzada, Anita about a Down Syndrome child's reaction to a terrorist attack, Las viudas de los jueves / Thursdays' Widows, directed by Marcelo Piñeyro (who made the wonderful Burnt Money) |
details 52 min (Armenian) genre documentary synopsis documentary of a photographer, Tonino Guerro, who shot movies with Michelangelo Antonioni and Federico Fellini misc ... |
details 100 min (Aboriginal, English) genre Romantic drama starring Rowan McNamara (Samson), Marissa Gibson (Delilah) synopsis this often mute love story between two aboroginals has been a festival hit all year... misc even winning the much coveted Camera D'Or for best first feature film from a jury presided over by Isabelle Adjani |
details 110 min (Turkish, English, Persian) genre refugee drama starring Navid Akhavan, Pourya Mahyari, Elika Bozorgi, Sina Saba, Payam Madjlessi and Behj Djanati Atai synopsis Refugees attempt to leave Iran through Turkey their goal is on to Austria misc ... |
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Bangladesh never nominated Beyond the Circle Golam Rabbany Biplob |
Belgium 5 nominations De Helaasheid Der Dingen (The Misfortunates) Felix Van Groeningen Official Site |
Bosnia
& Hersegovina 1 nom / 1 win Cuvari Noci (Guardians of the Night) Namik Kabil |
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details 87 min (Bengali) genre political fable starring Jayanto Chattopadhyay, Firoj Khan, Knogkon, Fazlur Rahman and Shahidul Islam synopsis a Hindu rural musician is brought to the bustling city of Dhaka and finds leaving the big city difficult misc ... |
details 108 min (Dutch) genre TBA starring TBA synopsis naked bicycling apparently. And lots of it. misc based on the book by Demetri Verhulst. Here's a review from TFE friend Boyd van Hoeij |
details 109 min (Spanish, Aymara) genre Familial / Political Drama starring ??? synopsis a portrait of a family during major changes for their country misc ... |
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details ??? genre ??? synopsis based on the true story of a mother searching for her son after the terrible riots in São Paulo misc ??? |
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Bulgaria never nominated The World is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner Stephan Komandarev Official Site |
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Here
Media 2010 TBA |
no
US distribution |
no
US distribution (even though an eye candy epic with Ziyi Zhang
seems like a no brainer) |
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US distribution |
| details 105 min (Bulgarian, German, Italian, Slovenian) genre drama starring Carlo Ljubek and Miki Manojlovic synopsis a boy stricken with amnesia begins a journey with his grandfather. Backgammon is somehow involved. misc ... |
details 96 min (French) genre autobiographical dramedy starring Anne Dorval (mother), Xavier Dolan (son) and François Arnaud (son's boyfriend) synopsis the rocky relationship of a gay son and his mother misc Film Experience Guest Review not selected Denis Villeneuve's Polytechnique and Bernard Emond's La Donation |
details ??? min (Spanish) genre political biopic starring Cristián de la Fuente (who does a lot of American television) and Benjamín Vicuña synopsis The story of a political dissident's imprisonment on an island south of Santiago misc Littín has made two Oscar nominated films: Letters From Marusia (for Mexico) and Alsino and the Condor (for Nicaruaga) |
details 147 min () genre biopic starring Two big stars in the lead roles: Leon Lai as the star and Zhang Ziyi as his wife synopsis about Mei Lanfang, China's most famous opera sensation. We first began hearing about this movie last year. misc ... |
details 117 min (Spanish) genre Roadtrip Drama starring Marciano Martinez and Yull Núñez synopsis a widower who is skilled with an accordion that's rumored to be cursed, makes a journey. He's joined by a young musician on his road trip. misc There's a long history of Oscar submissions (and nominations) that are essentially dramas about a young person and an old person travelling together. It's a Best Foreign Film staple. |
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Oscillope 2010 |
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details 90 min (Croatian) genre Family Drama starring Nebojsa Glogovac, Nastasa Janjic, Ljubo Kapor and Tonko Lonza synopsis a man takes his wife and son to his home village to see his estranged family misc The theme of the picture is fatherhood |
details 96 min (Spanish) genre Social drama starring Silvia Aguila, Carlos Ever Fonseca, Hector Noas, Annia Bu Maure, Isabel Santos synopsis A professor researches a famous pimp, shot dead by his French rivals who controlled the prostitution business in Havana in the early twentieth century. not selected Oscar-nominee director Juan Carlos Tabio's Horn of Plenty |
details ? min (Czech) genre WW II Drama (Oscar's favorite genre in this category) starring Marek Daniel, Jana Plodkova, Jiri Ornest and Simon Schwarz synopsis A man struggles to protect his Jewish wife after collaborating with the German propaganda in 1939 misc ... |
details 90 min (Danish) genre comedic thriller starring Jakob Cedergren, Lene Maria Christensen, Kim Bodnia and Lars Brygmann synopsis a cop, recovering from a nervous breakdown moves to a small town misc ... |
details 92 min (Estonian, Russian, English) genre Historical Drama starring Sergo Vares and Lilsi Koikson synopsis following the story of a young Estonian couple during a Communist coup in 1924 misc ... |
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Next
Page:
A
round of applause for contributing readers: Academy
Rejections / Disqualifications |
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Sony
Pictures Classics 2010 |
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details 74 min (Finnish) genre drama starring Kaarina Hazard, Jukka Keinonen and Heikki Nousianien as Father Jacob synopsis a hardened killer finds redemption when she befriends an elderly priest misc ... |
details 150 min (French) genre prison drama starring Tahar Rahim synopsis A young Arab discovers a prodigious gift for crime in the French prison system misc A big hit at Cannes and Toronto. This is Audiard's 3rd consecutive critical smash after Read My Lips and The Beat That My Heart Skipped |
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