Possible Foreign Oscar 2012 Contenders

You think it’s too early for this? Trust me, it’s not and that’s exactly why we’re here today to start our little chat about the official foreign language submissions for Oscar.

Nothing to be surprised about, after all – these titles are already familiar to you, mostly because of their success in some Film Festivals. Check out the rest of this report to see the list of announced submissions.

As you’re about to see, quite interesting list of movies from all over the world. Unfortunately we don’t have trailers and official synopsis part for every single film, but I’m sure we’ll soon have more material to share with you.

In the mean time, we will inform you that Kim Ki-duk‘s movie, Pieta, which won Golden Lion statue for best movie at the Venice Film Festival this year, has been submitted by South Korea as its official foreign language submission.

On the other hand, Joachim Lafosse‘s movie titled Our Children comes as an official submission for Belgium. In case you’re not so familiar with this one, I will just remind you that the movie stars Emilie Dequenne as a young mother caught between two men, and that she even got herself a Best Actress Un Certain Regard award at Cannes this May.

Next title comes from Japan – movie titled Homeland which comes from director Yang Yong-hi, and centers on a South Korean man who returns to Japan after 25 years in exile in North Korea.

When it comes to Palestinian Oscar entry, things are pretty clear – Annemarie Jacir‘s When I Saw You, which debuted at Toronto film festival is the contender for a foreign Oscar statue. The movie centers on an eccentric young boy who escapes from a Palestinian refugee camp in 1967 Jordan.

At the end, we should also mention Norwegian entry, movie titled Kon-Tiki, which is by the way the most expensive Norwegian production ever made. Co-directed by Espen Sandberg and Joachim Ronning, the movie is actually a true story of explorer and anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl who crossed the Pacific Ocean on a wooden raft in 1947. Kon-Tiki also played at TIFF recently.

Check out the list, and let us know what you think about the selection.

As usual – we’ll update the whole thing as soon as possible, so expect to see more photos, videos and synopsis for every single movie! Stay tuned!

Afghanistan – The Patience Stone, directed by Atiq Rahimi

Albania – Pharmakon, directed by Joni Shanaj

Algeria – Zabana!, directed by Saïd Ould Khelifa (Arabic, French)

Armenia – If Only Everyone, directed by Natalya Belyauskene (Armenian, Russian)

Australia – Lore, directed by Cate Shortland (German)

Austria – Amour, directed by Michael Haneke (French)

Azerbaijan – Buta, directed by Ilgar Najaf (Azeri)

Bangladesh – Ghetuptra Kamola, directed by Humayun Ahmed (Bengali)

Belgium – Our Children, directed by Joachim Lafosse (French)

Bosnia and Herzegovina – Children of Sarajevo, directed by Aida Begić (Bosnian)

Brazil – The Clown, directed by Selton Mello   (Portuguese)

Bulgaria – Sneakers, directed by Valeri Yordanov   (Bulgarian)

Cambodia – Lost Loves, directed by Chhay Bora  (Khmer)

Canada – War Witch, directed by Kim Nguyen (French, Lingala)

Chile – No, directed by Pablo Larrain (Spanish)

Colombia – El Cartel de los Sapos, directed by Carlos Moreno (Spanish)

Croatia – Cannibal Vegetarian, directed by Branko Schmidt (Croatian)

Czech Republic – In The Shadows, directed by David Ondricek (Czech, German)

Denmark – A Royal Affair, directed by Nikolaj Arcel (Danish)

Dominican Republic – Check Mate, directed by José María Cabral   (Spanish)

Estonia – Mushrooming, directed by Toomas Hussar  (Estonian)

Finland – Purge, directed by Antti Jokinen  (Finnish)

France – The Intouchables, directed by Eric Toledano & Olivier Nakache (French)

Georgia – Keep Smiling, directed by Rusudan Chkonia (Georgian)

Germany – Barbara, directed by Christian Petzold (German)

Greece – Unfair World, directed by Filippos Tsitos (Greek)

Hong Kong – Life Without Principle, directed by Johnnie To (Cantonese)

Hungary – Just The Wind, directed by Benedek Fliegauf (Hungarian)

Iceland – The Deep, directed by Baltasar Kormákur     (Icelandic)

India – Barfi!, directed by Anurag Basu   (Hindi)

Indonesia – Tiny Dancer, directed by Ifa Isfansyah   (Indonesian, Banymasan)

Israel – Fill The Void, directed by Rama Burshtein    (Hebrew)

Italy – Casear Must Die, directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani   (Italy)

Japan – Our Homeland, directed by Yong-hi Yang (Japanese)

Kazakhstan – Myn Bala, directed by Akan Satayev (Kazakh)

Kenya – Nairobi Half Life, directed by David ‘Tosh’ Gitonga (Swahili)

Macedonia -The Third Half, directed by Darko Mitrevski (Macedonian, German, Bulgarian)

Mexico – After Lucia, directed by Michel Franco  (Spanish)

Morocco – Death For Sale, directed by Faouzi Bensaïdi   (Arabic)

Netherlands – Kauwboy, directed by Boudewijn Koole (Dutch)

Norway – Kon-Tiki, directed by Joachim Rønning & Espen Sandberg (Norwegian)

Palestine – When I Saw You, directed by Annemarie Jacir (Arabic)

Peru – The Bad Intentions, directed by Rosario Garcia-Montero (Spanish)

Phillippines – Bwakaw, directed by Jun Lana (Tagalog)

Poland – 80 Million, directed by Waldemar Krzystek (Polish)

Portugal – Blood of My Blood, directed by João Canijo (Portuguese)

Romania – Beyond The Hills, directed by Cristian Mungiu (Romanian)

Russia – White Tiger, directed by Karen Shakhnazarov (Russian)

Serbia – When Day Breaks, directed by Goran Paskaljević  (Serbian)

Slovakia – Made in Ash, directed by Iveta Grófová (Slovak, German, Czech)

Slovenia – A Trip, directed by Nejc Gazvoda (Slovene)

South Korea – Pieta, directed by Kim Ki-duk (Korean)

Sweden – The Hypnotist, directed by Lasse Hallstrom (Swedish)

Switzerland – Sister, directed by Ursala Meier (French)

Taiwan – Touch of the Light, directed by Chang Rong-ji (Mandarin)

Thailand – Headshot, directed by Pen-Ek Ratanaruang (Thai)

Urkraine – Firecrosser, directed by Mykhailo Illienko (Russian, Ukranian)

Venezuela – Rock, Paper, Scissors, directed by Hernán Jabes   (Spanish)

Vietnam – The Scent of Burning Glass, directed by Nguyễn Hữu Mười   (Vietnamese)