67 Countries Vying for 2008 Foreign Language Film Oscar

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 (animated);
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, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.