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.
