SUBMISSIONS FOR BEST FOREIGN FILM OF 2014

A RECORD 83 FOREIGN COUNTRIES HAVE OSCAR® ON THEIR MINDS

First, a word to my readers and followers. I was very busy the last six months of 2013, and the first eight months of this year, 2014. So, I slacked in my duties for "Mimi at the Movies," both on this blog and the "Mimi at the Movies" on Facebook. Twitter fared better, because it is so easy and quick to pass the news there. But today, I received an email from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announcing the submission of the feature motion pictures 83 countries have submitted to enter the race for Best Foreign Language motion picture Oscar, and I realized I better get busy.

Yes, another record. Last year was a record for that time with 76 submissions. This year's first-time entries are Kosovo, Malta, Mauritania and Panama. Welcome, all, to Mimi at the Movies, and may you have a happy and exciting experience with the Academy!

This year's submissions, with the director(s), are:

 

Afghanistan, "A Few Cubic Meters of Love," Jamshid Mahmoudi;
Argentina, "Wild Tales," Damián Szifrón;
Australia, "Charlie's Country," Rolf de Heer;
Austria, "The Dark Valley," Andreas Prochaska;
Azerbaijan, "Nabat," Elchin Musaoglu;
Bangladesh, "Glow of the Firefly," Khalid Mahmood Mithu;
Belgium, "Two Days, One Night," Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne;

Bolivia, "Forgotten," Carlos Bolado;
Bosnia and Herzegovina, "With Mom," Faruk Lončarevič;
Brazil, "The Way He Looks," Daniel Ribeiro;
Bulgaria, "Bulgarian Rhapsody," Ivan Nitchev;
Canada, "Mommy," Xavier Dolan;
Chile, "To Kill a Man," Alejandro Fernández Almendras;
China, "The Nightingale," Philippe Muyl;
Colombia, "Mateo," María Gamboa;
Costa Rica, "Red Princesses," Laura Astorga Carrera;
Croatia, "Cowboys," Tomislav Mršić;
Cuba, "Conducta," Ernesto Daranas Serrano;
Czech Republic, "Fair Play," Andrea Sedláčková;
Denmark, "Sorrow and Joy," Nils Malmros;
Dominican Republic, "Cristo Rey," Leticia Tonos;
Ecuador, "Silence in Dreamland," Tito Molina;
Egypt, "Factory Girl," Mohamed Khan;
Estonia, "Tangerines," Zaza Urushadze;
Ethiopia, "Difret," Zeresenay Berhane Mehari;
Finland, "Concrete Night," Pirjo Honkasalo;
France, "Saint Laurent," Bertrand Bonello;
Georgia, "Corn Island," George Ovashvili;
Germany, "Beloved Sisters," Dominik Graf;
Greece, "Little England," Pantelis Voulgaris;
Hong Kong, "The Golden Era," Ann Hui;
Hungary, "White God," Kornél Mundruczó;
Iceland, "Life in a Fishbowl," Baldvin Zophoníasson;
India, "Liar's Dice," Geetu Mohandas;
Indonesia, "Soekarno," Hanung Bramantyo;
Iran, "Today," Reza Mirkarimi;
Iraq, "Mardan," Batin Ghobadi;
Ireland, "The Gift," Tom Collins;
Israel, "Gett, the Trial of Viviane Amsalem," Ronit Elkabetz and Shlomi Elkabetz;
Italy, "Human Capital," Paolo Virzì;
Japan, "The Light Shines Only There," Mipo O;
Kosovo, "Three Windows and a Hanging," Isa Qosja;
Kyrgyzstan, "Kurmanjan Datka Queen of the Mountains," Sadyk Sher-Niyaz;
Latvia, "Rocks in My Pockets," Signe Baumane;
Lebanon, "Ghadi," Amin Dora, director;
Lithuania, "The Gambler," Ignas Jonynas;
Luxembourg, "Never Die Young," Pol Cruchten;
Macedonia, "To the Hilt," Stole Popov;
Malta, "Simshar," Rebecca Cremona;
Mauritania, "Timbuktu," Abderrahmane Sissako;
Mexico, "Cantinflas," Sebastián del Amo;
Moldova, "The Unsaved," Igor Cobileanski;
Montenegro, "The Kids from the Marx and Engels Street," Nikola Vukčević;
Morocco, "The Red Moon," Hassan Benjelloun, director;
Nepal, "Jhola," Yadav Kumar Bhattarai;
Netherlands, "Accused," Paula van der Oest;
New Zealand, "The Dead Lands," Toa Fraser;
Norway, "1001 Grams," Bent Hamer, director;
Pakistan, "Dukhtar," Afia Nathaniel, director;
Palestine, "Eyes of a Thief," Najwa Najjar;
Panama, "Invasion," Abner Benaim;
Peru, "The Gospel of the Flesh," Eduardo Mendoza;
Philippines, "Norte, the End of History," Lav Diaz;
Poland, "Ida," Paweł Pawlikowski;
Portugal, "What Now? Remind Me," Joaquim Pinto;
Romania, "The Japanese Dog," Tudor Cristian Jurgiu;
Russia, "Leviathan," Andrey Zvyagintsev;
Serbia, "See You in Montevideo," Dragan Bjelogrlić;
Singapore, "Sayang Disayang," Sanif Olek;
Slovakia, "A Step into the Dark," Miloslav Luther;
Slovenia, "Seduce Me," Marko Šantić, director;
South Africa, "Elelwani," Ntshavheni Wa Luruli;
South Korea, "Haemoo," Shim Sung-bo;
Spain, "Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed," David Trueba;
Sweden, "Force Majeure," Ruben Östlund;
Switzerland, "The Circle," Stefan Haupt;
Taiwan, "Ice Poison," Midi Z;
Thailand, "The Teacher’s Diary," Nithiwat Tharathorn;
Turkey, "Winter Sleep," Nuri Bilge Ceylan;
Ukraine, "The Guide," Oles Sanin;
United Kingdom, "Little Happiness," Nihat Seven;
Uruguay, "Mr. Kaplan," Álvaro Brechner;
Venezuela, "The Liberator," Alberto Arvelo.

The 87th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 15, 2015, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

The Oscars® will be held on Sunday, February 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network.  The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

ABOUT THE ACADEMY 

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world’s preeminent movie-related organization, with a membership of more than 6,000 of the most accomplished men and women working in cinema. In addition to the annual Academy Awards—in which the members vote to select the nominees and winners — the Academy presents a diverse year-round slate of public programs, exhibitions and events; acts as a neutral advocate in the advancement of motion picture technology; and, through its Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive, collects, preserves, restores and provides access to movies and items related to their history. Through these and other activities the Academy serves students, historians, the entertainment industry and people everywhere who love movies.

ONLY NINE FOREIGN LANGUAGE FEATURES SHORT-LISTED FOR OSCAR

Out of 76 feature Foreign Language Motion Pictures submitted to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS®), only nine have been short-listed to advance to the next round of voting, which will be for the official Oscar nominees in the Foreign Language Film category for the 86th Academy Awards®. 

The motion pictures, listed in alphabetical order by country with director, are:

Belgium, "The Broken Circle Breakdown," Felix van Groeningen;

Bosnia and Herzegovina, "An Episode in the Life of an  Iron Picker," Danis Tanovic";

Cambodia, "The Missing Picture," Rithy Panh;

Denmark, "The Hunt," Thomas Vinterberg;

Germany, "Two Lives," Georg Maas;

Hong Kong, "The Grandmaster," Wong Kar-wai;

Hungary, "The Notebook," Janos Szasz;

Italy, "The Great Beauty," Paolo Sorrentino;

Palestine, "Omar," Hany Abu-Assad.

Foreign Language Film nominations for 2013 are being determined in two phases. 

The Phase one committee, consisting of several hundred Los Angeles-based Academy members, screened the original submissions in the category between mid-October and December 16.  The group's top six choices, augmented by three additional selections voted by the Academy's Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee, constitute the short list.

The short list will be winnowed down to the five nominees by specially invited committees in New York and Los Angeles.  They will spend Friday, January 10, through Sunday, January 12, viewing three films each day and then casting their ballots.

Now, five nominees in this Oscar category will be selected by specially invited committees in New York and Los Angeles.  They will spend Friday, January 10, through Sunday, January 12, viewing three films each day and then casting their ballots.

The 86th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 16, 2014, at 5:30 a.m. PT, in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2013 will be presented on Oscar Sunday, March 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® and televised live on the ABC Television Network.  The presentation, produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. gala will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

MIMI COMMENTS: "Five nominees to come from only nine entries out of 76? Oh, my. What about those motion pictures submitted for previous award winners by their native countries such as Asghar Farhadi's new 'The Past' (Iran), Berlinale standout 'Gloria' (Chile), Canada's entry 'Gabrielle,' and last but not least, Saudi Arabia's submission of Haifaa Al-Mansour's 'Wadjda,' a number of critic's top choices. This may be a record for a winnowed down AMPAS list.

"Aadjda" - Official Trailer   

WARNING - there are a number of things blowing up before the trailer starts about 30 seconds in, so, please wait: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pcCCbLzhcY

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