58 countries vie for Foreign Language Oscar

Oct 25, 2005 by Ian Evans

A record fifty-eight countries from four continents, including new entrants Costa Rica, Fiji and Iraq, have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film Award category, Academy President Sid Ganis announced today.

The 2005 submissions are:

• Argentina, El Aura, Fabian Bielinsky, director;
• Bangladesh, Shyamol Chaya, Humayun Ahmed, director;
• Belgium, The Child, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, directors;
• Bolivia, Say Good Morning to Dad, Fernando Vargas, director;
• Bosnia & Herzegovina, Totally Personal, Nedžad Begović, director;
• Brazil, Two Sons of Francisco, Breno Silveira, director;
• Bulgaria, Stolen Eyes, Radoslav Spassov, director;
• Canada, C.R.A.Z.Y., Jean-Marc Vallée, director;
• Chile, Play, Alicia Scherson, director;
• China, The Promise, Chen Kaige, director;
• Colombia, La Sombra del Caminante, Ciro Guerra, director;
• Costa Rica, Caribe, Esteban Ramírez, director;
• Croatia, A Wonderful Night in Split, Arsen Anton Ostojic’, director;
• Cuba, Viva Cuba, Juan Carlos Cremata Malberti, director;
• Czech Republic, Something Like Happiness, Bohdan Sláma, director;
• Denmark, Adam’s Apples, Anders Thomas Jensen, director;
• Estonia, Shop of Dreams, Peeter Urbla, director;
• Fiji, The Land Has Eyes, Vilsoni Hereniko, director;
• Finland, Mother of Mine, Klaus Härö, director;
• France, Joyeux Noel, Christian Carion, director;
• Georgia, Tbilisi-Tbilisi, Levan Zakareishvili, director;
• Germany, Sophie Scholl – The Final Days, Marc Rothemund, director;
• Hong Kong, Perhaps Love, Peter Ho-Sun Chan, director;
• Hungary, Fateless, Lajos Koltai, director;
• Iceland, Ahead of Time, Ágúst Gudmundsson, director;
• India, Paheli, Amol Palekar, director;
• Indonesia, Gie, Riri Riza, director;
• Iran, So Close, So Far, Reza Mir Karimi, director;
• Iraq, Requiem of Snow, Jamil Rostami, director;
• Israel, What a Wonderful Place, Eyal Halfon, director;
• Italy, La Bestia Nel Cuore, Cristina Comencini, director;
• Japan, Blood and Bones, Yoichi Sai, director;
• Korea, Welcome to Dongmakgol, Kwang-hyun Park, director;
• Luxembourg, Renart the Fox, Thierry Schiel, director;
• Mexico, Al Otro Lado, Gustavo Loza, director;
• Mongolia, The Cave of the Yellow Dog, Byambasuren Davaa, director;
• The Netherlands, Bluebird, Mijke de Jong, director;
• Norway, Kissed by Winter, Sara Johnsen, director;
• Palestine, Paradise Now, Hany Abu-Assad, director;
• Peru, Días de Santiago, Josué Méndez, director;
• Poland, The Collector, Feliks Falk, director;
• Portugal, Noite Escura, João Canijo, director;
• Puerto Rico, Cayo, Vicente Juarbe, director;
• Romania, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, Cristi Puiu, director;
• Russia, The Italian, Andrei Kravchuk, director;
• Serbia & Montenegro, Midwinter Night’s Dream, Goran Paskaljevic’, director;
• Singapore, Be with Me, Eric Khoo, director;
• Slovak Republic, The City of the Sun, Martin Šulík, director;
• Slovenia, The Ruins, Janez Burger, director;
• South Africa, Tsotsi, Gavin Hood, director;
• Spain, Obaba, Montxo Armendáriz, director;
• Sweden, Zozo, Josef Fares, director;
• Switzerland, Tout un Hiver sans Feu, Greg Zglinski, director;
• Taiwan, The Wayward Cloud, Tsai Ming-liang, director;
• Tajikistan, Sex & Philosophy, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, director;
• Thailand, The Tin Mine, Jira Maligool, director;
• Turkey, Lovelorn, Yavuz Turgul, director;
• Vietnam, Buffalo Boy, Nguyen Vo Nghiem Mihn, director.

The 78th Academy Award® nominations will be announced on Tuesday, January 31, 2006, at 5:30 a.m. PST. Stick with DigitalHit.com for all your 2005 Oscar news.