Nine films will advance to the next round of voting in the Best Foreign Language Film category for the 85th Academy Awards®. Seventy-one films originally qualified.
The films, listed in alphabetical order by country, are:
Austria, "Amour," Michael Haneke, director;
Canada, "War Witch," Kim Nguyen, director;
Chile, "No," Pablo Larraín, director*;
Denmark, "A Royal Affair," Nikolaj Arcel, director;
France, "The Intouchables," Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, directors;
Iceland, "The Deep," Baltasar Kormákur, director;
Norway, "Kon-Tiki," Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, directors;
Romania, "Beyond the Hills," Cristian Mungiu **, director;
Switzerland, "Sister," Ursula Meier, director.
Mimi's Notes:
* "No" stars Gael Garcia Bernal.
** Mungiu's 2007 film, "4 Months,3 Weeks and 2 Days" (4 luni, 3 saptamâni si 2 zile)won at Cannes and received many, many additional awards but did not receive a nomination in this category from members of AMPAS®. Speculation abounded that it was because the movie dealt with abortion. goo.gl/V79XM
Foreign Language Film nominations for 2012 are again being determined in two phases.
The Phase I committee, consisting of several hundred Los Angeles-based members, screened the 71 eligible films between mid-October and December 17. The group's top six choices, augmented by three additional selections voted by the Academy's Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee, constitute the shortlist.
Phase II, the shortlist will be winnowed down to the five nominees by specially invited committees in New York and Los Angeles. They will spend Friday, January 4, through Sunday, January 6, viewing three films each day and then casting their ballots.
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievement of 2012 will be presented on Sunday, February 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theatre™ at Hollywood and Highland Center®, and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.
