Nine Foreign Language Films Make Cut

Nine films will advance in the voting process in the Foreign Language Film category for the 79th Academy Awards®, 2006 Oscar®.

The Phase I committee, consisting of several hundred Los Angeles-based members, screened the 61 eligible films qualified in the Best Foreign Language Film Category, and their ballots determined the shortlist of nine which is listed in alphabetical order by country:

Algeria, DAYS OF GLORY, Rachid Bouchareb, director.
Canada, WATER, Deepa Mehta, director.
Denmark, AFTER THE WEDDING, Susanne Bier, director.
France, AVENUE MONTAIGNE, Daniele Thompson, director.
Germany, THE LIVES OF OTHERS, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, director.
Mexico, PAN'S LABYRINTH, Guillermo del Toro, director.
The Netherlands, BLACK BOOK, Paul Verhoeven, director.
Spain, VOLVER, Pedro Almodovar, director.
Switzerland, VITUS, Fredi M. Murer, director

Next, the Phase II committee, made up of ten randomly selected members from the Phase I group and joined by additional ten-member contingents in New York and Los Angeles, will view the short-listed films and select the five 2006 nominees for the category. Screenings for this group will take place from Friday, January 19, through Sunday, January 21, in both Hollywood and New York City.

Nominations for the 79th Academy Awards will be announced this coming Tuesday, January 23, 2007, at 5:30 a.m. PST in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Actress Salma Hayek will join Academy President Sid Ganis in announcing the nominees.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2006 will be presented on Sunday, February 25, 2007, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network at 5 p.m. PST (8 p.m. EST), beginning with a half-hour arrivals segment, “The Road to the Oscars®.”