67 countries vying for Foreign Language Oscar

Oct 17, 2008 by Ian Evans

It’s mid-October and that means the leaves are falling and the Oscar® race is beginning to take shape.

Academy President Sid Ganis announced today that a record 67 countries, including first-time entrant Jordan, have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 81st Academy Awards®.

The 2008 submissions are:

  • Afghanistan, Opium War, Siddiq Barmak, director;
  • Albania, The Sorrow of Mrs. Schneider, Piro Milkani and Eno Milkani, directors;
  • Algeria, Masquerades, Lyes Salem, director;
  • Argentina, Lion’s Den, Pablo Trapero, director;
  • Austria, Revanche, Gotz Spielmann, director;
  • Azerbaijan, Fortress, Shamil Nacafzada, director;
  • Bangladesh, Aha!, Enamul Karim Nirjhar, director;
  • Belgium, Eldorado, Bouli Lanners, director;
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina, Snow, Aida Begic, director;
  • Brazil, Last Stop 174, Bruno Barreto, director;
  • Bulgaria, Zift, Javor Gardev, director;
  • Canada, The Necessities of Life, Benoit Pilon, director;
  • Chile, Tony Manero, Pablo Larrain, director;
  • China, Dream Weavers, Jun Gu, director;
  • Colombia, Dog Eat Dog, Carlos Moreno, director;
  • Croatia, No One’s Son, Arsen Anton Ostojic, director;
  • Czech Republic, The Karamazovs, Petr Zelenka, director;
  • Denmark, Worlds Apart, Niels Arden Oplev, director;
  • Egypt, The Island, Sherif Arafa, director;
  • Estonia, I Was Here, Rene Vilbre, director;
  • Finland, The Home of Dark Butterflies, Dome Karukoski, director;
  • France, The Class, Laurent Cantet, director;
  • Georgia, Mediator, Dito Tsintsadze, director;
  • Germany, The Baader Meinhof Complex, Uli Edel, director;
  • Greece, Correction, Thanos Anastopoulos, director;
  • Hong Kong, Painted Skin, Gordon Chan, director;
  • Hungary, Iska’s Journey, Csaba Bollok, director;
  • Iceland, White Night Wedding, Baltasar Kormakur, director;
  • India, Taare Zameen Par, Aamir Khan, director;
  • Iran, The Song of Sparrows, Majid Majidi, director;
  • Israel, Waltz with Bashir, Ari Folman, director;
  • Italy, Gomorra, Matteo Garrone, director;
  • Japan, Departures, Yojiro Takita, director;
  • Jordan, Captain Abu Raed, Amin Matalqa, director;
  • Kazakhstan, Tulpan, Sergey Dvortsevoy, director;
  • Korea, Crossing, Tae-kyun Kim, director;
  • Kyrgyzstan, Heavens Blue, Marie Jaoul de Poncheville, director;
  • Latvia, Defenders of Riga, Aigars Grauba, director;
  • Lebanon, Under the Bombs, Philippe Aractingi, director;
  • Lithuania, Loss, Maris Martinsons, director;
  • Luxembourg, Nuits d’Arabie, Paul Kieffer, director;
  • Macedonia, I’m from Titov Veles, Teona Strugar Mitevska, director;
  • Mexico, Tear This Heart Out, Roberto Sneider, director;
  • Morocco, Goodbye Mothers, Mohamed Ismail, director;
  • The Netherlands, Dunya & Desie, Dana Nechushtan, director;
  • Norway, O’Horten, Bent Hamer, director;
  • Palestine, Salt of This Sea, Annemarie Jacir, director;
  • Philippines, Ploning, Dante Nico Garcia, director;
  • Poland, Tricks, Andrzej Jakimowski, director;
  • Portugal, Our Beloved Month of August, Miguel Gomes, director;
  • Romania, The Rest Is Silence, Nae Caranfil, director;
  • Russia, Mermaid, Anna Melikyan, director;
  • Serbia, The Tour, Goran Markovic, director;
  • Singapore, My Magic, Eric Khoo, director;
  • Slovakia, Blind Loves, Juraj Lehotsky, director;
  • Slovenia, Rooster’s Breakfast, Marko Nabersnik, director;
  • South Africa, Jerusalema, Ralph Ziman, director;
  • Spain, The Blind Sunflowers, Jose Luis Cuerda, director;
  • Sweden, Everlasting Moments, Jan Troell, director;
  • Switzerland, The Friend, Micha Lewinsky, director;
  • Taiwan, Cape No. 7, Te-Sheng Wei, director;
  • Thailand, Love of Siam, Chookiat Sakveerakul, director;
  • Turkey, 3 Monkeys, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, director;
  • Ukraine, Illusion of Fear, Aleksandr Kiriyenko, director;
  • United Kingdom, Hope Eternal, Karl Francis, director;
  • Uruguay, Kill Them All, Esteban Schroeder, director;
  • Venezuela, The Color of Fame, Alejandro Bellame Palacios, director.

Nominations for the 81st Academy Awards will be announced on Thursday, January 22, 2009, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2008 will be presented on Sunday, February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®. Stick with DigitalHit.com for all your 2009 Academy Awards coverage.