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;
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.
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.
Director Ang Lee in Beverly Hills, 2007
THE BAND'S VISIT (Bikur Ha-Tizmoret, Eran Kolirin, director, 2007) officially submitted by Israel, was turned down because there is too much English in the picture. Again see my post of 12 October about the problem of "language" in foreign movies.
Israel substituted BEAUFORT, Joseph Cedar, 2007, the latter's story line being much less interesting than a brass band comprised of members of the Egyptian police force head to Israel to play at the inaugural ceremony of an Arab arts center only to find themselves lost in a foreign city.
THE DIVING BELL and the BUTTERFLY (Le Scaphandre et le papillon, France / USA , 2007), Julian Schnabel's French movie, which won him the directing prize at Cannes and critical acclaim at other festivals, was not submitted by France. They chose to submit the animated PERSEPOLIS, also in French with French crew and actors, Catherine Deneuve among them. Under the Academy's rules a country may submit only one entry, and the country has the right to make that choice. That is, provided the movie follows the rules of submission established by the Academy.
PERSEPOLIS is based on Iranian author Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel. Satrapi also co-wrote the screenplay and co-directed the movie with Frenchman Vincent Paronnaud. It is a poignant coming-of-age story of a precocious and outspoken young Iranian girl that begins during the Islamic Revolution. Deneuve plays the mother, and that alone certifies it as genuinely French. Plus, doesn't every Iranian girl have a French mother as beautiful and Deneuve?
The movie sounds very much like the award-winning MAR ADENTO (The Sea Inside, Spain, 2004), directed by Alejandro Amenába (right in picture above).
He notes Afghanistan has no submission this year, implying the reason is THE KITE RUNNER did not meet the rules for a BFLF submission, but THE KITE RUNNER is based on a book written by American-educated Afghani writer Khaled Hosseini, who also cowrote the screenplay. Although the main actors and some of the crew are from Afghanistan, it was filmed in China and California, by U.S. production companies (principally MacDonald / Parkes Productions) and is distributed by U.S. distributors (DreamWorks SKG and Paramount Vintage). There is more English spoken than the other foreign languages, and it is officially a U.S. production, not Afghani, and was not eligible for a BFLF submission from Afghanistan from the beginning.
