Above: France’s Oscar choice was crowdpleaser “The Intouchables” from Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache.
Amid defending champion Iran’s withdrawal from the competition, a record 71 countries have submitted films for the foreign-language category at February’s 85th annual Oscars, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences confirmed.
First-time entries from countries such as Kenya (director Tosh Gitonga’s “Nairobi Half Life”) helped push the foreign-language tally past its previous record of 67.
The final nations reported to enter the race were Kyrgyzstan (“The Empty Home,” Nurbek Egen), Malaysia (“Bunohan,” Dain Iskandar Said) and Singapore (“Already Famous,” Michelle Chong).
In the overall field, among the noteworthy submissions is “Amour,” the Cannes Palme d’Or winner set in France but entered by Austria on behalf of director Michael Haneke. (For its part, France went with crowdpleaser “The Intouchables” from Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache.) “Amour” has been frequently cited as a contender for Oscar nominations in all major categories.
The category’s most recent winner, Asghar Farhadi’s “A Separation,” also earned an Oscar original screenplay nom. However, Iran announced in late September it would not enter its 2012 selection, Reza Mirkarimi dramedy “A Cube of Sugar,” in protest against the made-in-U.S. anti-Islam video that riled the globe.
Other past participants choosing to sit out this year were Cuba, Egypt, Ireland, Lebanon and New Zealand. Meanwhile, Cambodia is making its first entry in 18 years with “Lost Loves” from Chhay Bora.
Some distinct themes have emerged among the submissions, not the least of which is war and its domino effect. Working in this territory are Afghanistan’s “The Patience Stone,” Algeria’s “Zabana!” Argentina’s “Clandestine Childhood”, Armenia’s “If Only Everyone,” Australia’s “Lore,” Bosnia and Herzegovina’s “Children of Sarajevo,” Canada’s “War Witch,” Kazakhstan’s “Myn Bala: Warriors of the Steppe,” Ukraine’s “Firecrosser” and Vietnam’s “The Scent of Burning Grass.”
Children are also central figures in several of the stories, such as Azerbaijan’s “Buta,” Bangladesh’s “Pleasure Boy Komola,” Belgium’s “Our Children,” Bulgaria’s “Sneakers,” Greenland’s “Inuk,” Mexico’s “After Lucia,” the Netherlands’ “Kauwboy,” Palestine’s “When I Saw You,” Peru’s “The Bad Intentions,” Slovakia’s “Made in Ash,” Switzerland’s “Sister,” Uruguay’s “The Delay” and Venezuela’s “Rock, Paper, Scissors.”
Below is the full list of submissions and their directors:
Afghanistan, “The Patience Stone,” Atiq Rahimi
Albania, “Pharmakon,” Joni Shanaj
Algeria, “Zabana!” Said Ould Khelifa
Argentina, “Clandestine Childhood,” Benjamín Ávila
Armenia, “If Only Everyone,” Natalia Belyauskene
Australia, “Lore,” Cate Shortland
Austria, “Amour,” Michael Haneke
Azerbaijan, “Buta,” Ilgar Najaf
Bangladesh, “Pleasure Boy Komola,” Humayun Ahmed
Belgium, “Our Children,” Joachim Lafosse
Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Children of Sarajevo,” Aida Begic
Brazil, “The Clown,” Selton Mello
Bulgaria, “Sneakers,” Valeri Yordanov and Ivan Vladimirovs
Cambodia, “Lost Loves,” Chhay Bora
Canada, “War Witch,” Kim Nguyen
Chile, “No,” Pablo Larraín
China, “Caught in the Web,” Chen Kaige
Colombia, “The Snitch Cartel,” Carlos Moreno
Croatia, “Vegetarian Cannibal,” Branko Schmidt
Czech Republic, “In the Shadow,” David Ondrícek
Denmark, “A Royal Affair,” Nikolaj Arcel
Dominican Republic, “Jaque Mate,” José María Cabral
Estonia, “Mushrooming,” Toomas Hussar
Finland, “Purge,” Antti J. Jokinen
France, “The Intouchables,” Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledanos
Georgia, “Keep Smiling,” Rusudan Chkonia
Germany, “Barbara,” Christian Petzold
Greece, “Unfair World,” Filippos Tsitos
Greenland, “Inuk,” Mike Magidson
Hong Kong, “Life without Principle,” Johnnie To
Hungary, “Just the Wind,” Bence Fliegauf
Iceland, “The Deep,” Baltasar Kormákur
India, “Barfi!” Anurag Basu
Indonesia, “The Dancer,” Ifa Isfansyah
Israel, “Fill the Void,” Rama Burshtein
Italy, “Caesar Must Die,” Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Tavianis
Japan, “Our Homeland,” Yang Yonghi
Kazakhstan, “Myn Bala: Warriors of the Steppe,” Akan Satayev
Kenya, “Nairobi Half Life,” David ‘Tosh’ Gitonga
Kyrgyzstan, “The Empty Home,” Nurbek Egen
Latvia, “Gulf Stream under the Iceberg,” Yevgeny Pashkevich
Lithuania, “Ramin,” Audrius Stonys
Macedonia, “The Third Half,” Darko Mitrevski
Malaysia, “Bunohan,” Dain Iskandar Said
Mexico, “After Lucia,” Michel Franco
Morocco, “Death for Sale,” Faouzi Bensaïdi
Netherlands, “Kauwboy,” Boudewijn Koole
Norway, “Kon-Tiki,” Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandbergs
Palestine, “When I Saw You,” Annemarie Jacir
Peru, “The Bad Intentions,” Rosario García-Montero
Philippines, “Bwakaw,” Jun Robles Lana
Poland, “80 Million,” Waldemar Krzystek
Portugal, “Blood of My Blood,” João Canijo
Romania, “Beyond the Hills,” Cristian Mungiu
Russia, “White Tiger,” Karen Shakhnazarov
Serbia, “When Day Breaks,” Goran Paskaljevic
Singapore, “Already Famous,” Michelle Chong
Slovak Republic, “Made in Ash,” Iveta Grofova
Slovenia, “A Trip,” Nejc Gazvoda
South Africa, “Little One,” Darrell James Roodt
South Korea, “Pieta,” Kim Ki-duk
Spain, “Blancanieves,” Pablo Berger
Sweden, “The Hypnotist,” Lasse Hallström
Switzerland, “Sister,” Ursula Meier
Taiwan, “Touch of the Light,” Chang Jung-Chi
Thailand, “Headshot,” Pen-ek Ratanaruang
Turkey, “Where the Fire Burns,” Ismail Gunes
Ukraine, “The Firecrosser,” Mykhailo Illienko
Uruguay, “The Delay,” Rodrigo Plá
Venezuela, “Rock, Paper, Scissors,” Hernán Jabes
Vietnam, “The Scent of Burning Grass,” Nguyen Huu Muoi.
