Last year winner in this category was “
The Counterfeiters” directed by
Stefan Ruzowitzky (
Austria).
The race for the best foreign-language film
Oscar is the most crowded one yet. It’s a new record – 67 countries, including first-time entrant Jordan, have submitted films for consideration in the
Foreign Language Film category for the
81st Academy Awards.
You’ve probably seen or heard of some of them.
And they are:
Afghanistan, “Opium War,” Siddiq Barmak, director;
Albania, “The Sorrow of Mrs. Schneider,” Piro Milkani and Eno Milkani, directors;
Algeria, “Masquerades,” Lyes Salem, director;
Argentina, “Lion’s Den,” Pablo Trapero, director;
Austria, “Revanche,” Gotz Spielmann, director;
Azerbaijan, “Fortress,” Shamil Nacafzada, director;
Bangladesh, “Aha!,” Enamul Karim Nirjhar, director;
Belgium, “Eldorado,” Bouli Lanners, director;
Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Snow,” Aida Begic, director;
Brazil, “Last Stop 174,” Bruno Barreto, director;
Bulgaria, “Zift,” Javor Gardev, director;
Canada, “The Necessities of Life,” Benoit Pilon, director;
Chile, “Tony Manero,” Pablo Larrain, director;
China, “Dream Weavers,” Jun Gu, director;
Colombia, “Dog Eat Dog,” Carlos Moreno, director;
Croatia, “No One’s Son,” Arsen Anton Ostojic, director;
Czech Republic, “
The Karamazovs,” Petr Zelenka, director;
Denmark, “Worlds Apart,” Niels Arden Oplev, director;
Egypt, “The Island,” Sherif Arafa, director;
Estonia, “I Was Here,” Rene Vilbre, director;
Finland, “The Home of Dark Butterflies,” Dome Karukoski, director;
France, “
The Class,” Laurent Cantet, director;
Georgia, “Mediator,” Dito Tsintsadze, director;
Germany, “The Baader Meinhof Complex,” Uli Edel, director;
Greece, “Correction,” Thanos Anastopoulos, director;
Hong Kong, “Painted Skin,” Gordon Chan, director;
Hungary, “Iska’s Journey,” Csaba Bollok, director;
Iceland, “White Night Wedding,” Baltasar Kormakur, director
India, “Taare Zameen Par,” Aamir Khan, director;
Iran, “The Song of Sparrows,” Majid Majidi, director;
Israel, “
Waltz with Bashir,” Ari Folman, director;
Italy, “
Gomorra,” Matteo Garrone, director;
Japan, “Departures,” Yojiro Takita, director;
Jordan, “Captain Abu Raed,” Amin Matalqa, director;
Kazakhstan, “
Tulpan,” Sergey Dvortsevoy, director;
Korea, “Crossing,” Tae-kyun Kim, director;
Kyrgyzstan, “Heavens Blue,” Marie Jaoul de Poncheville, director;
Latvia, “Defenders of Riga,” Aigars Grauba, director;
Lebanon, “Under the Bombs,” Philippe Aractingi, director;
Lithuania, “Loss,” Maris Martinsons, director;
Luxembourg, “Nuits d’Arabie,” Paul Kieffer, director;
Macedonia, “I’m from Titov Veles,” Teona Strugar Mitevska, director;
Mexico, “Tear This Heart Out,” Roberto Sneider, director;
Morocco, “Goodbye Mothers,” Mohamed Ismail, director
The Netherlands, “Dunya & Desie,” Dana Nechushtan, director;
Norway, “O’Horten,” Bent Hamer, director;
Palestine, “Salt of This Sea” Annemarie Jacir, director;
Philippines, “Ploning,” Dante Nico Garcia, director;
Poland, “Tricks,” Andrzej Jakimowski, director;
Portugal, “Our Beloved Month of August,” Miguel Gomes, director;
Romania, “The Rest Is Silence,” Nae Caranfil, director;
Russia, “Mermaid,” Anna Melikyan, director;
Serbia, “The Tour,” Goran Markovic, director;
Singapore, “My Magic,” Eric Khoo, director;
Slovakia, “
Blind Loves,” Juraj Lehotsky, director;
Slovenia, “Rooster’s Breakfast,” Marko Nabersnik, director;
South Africa, “Jerusalema,” Ralph Ziman, director;
Spain, “The Blind Sunflowers,” Jose Luis Cuerda, director;
Sweden, “Everlasting Moments,” Jan Troell, director;
Switzerland, “The Friend,” Micha Lewinsky, director;
Taiwan, “Cape No. 7,” Te-Sheng Wei, director;
Thailand, “Love of Siam,” Chookiat Sakveerakul, director;
Turkey, “
3 Monkeys,” Nuri Bilge Ceylan, director;
Ukraine, “Illusion of Fear,” Aleksandr Kiriyenko, director;
United Kingdom, “Hope Eternal,” Karl Francis, director;
Uruguay, “Kill Them All,” Esteban Schroeder, director;
Venezuela, “The Color of Fame,” Alejandro Bellame Palacios, director.
