AMPAS Narrows Foreign Language Contenders for Oscars
Out of the sixty-five foreign language films originally selected for consideration by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences®, nine have been selected to move forward in the next round of voting for the 82nd Academy Awards®.
Notes from the Academy press release:
Foreign Language Film nominations for 2009 are again being determined in two phases.
The Phase I committee, consisting of several hundred Los Angeles-based members, screened the 65 eligible films between mid-October and January 16. The group’s top six choices, augmented by three additional selections voted by the Academy’s Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee, constitute the shortlist.
The shortlist will be winnowed down to the five nominees by specially invited committees in New York and Los Angeles. They will spend Friday, January 29, through Sunday, January 31, viewing three films each day and then casting their ballots.
The 82nd Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, February 2, 2010, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2009 will be presented on Sunday, March 7, 2010, 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.
The candidate films are as follows:
From Argentina, El Secreto de Sus Ojos, directed by Juan Jose Campanella.
From Australia, Samson & Delilah, directed by Warwick Thornton.
From Bulgaria, The World Is Big and Salvation Lurks around the Corner, directed by Stephan Komandarev.
From France, Un Prophète, directed by Jacques Audiard.
From Germany, Das Weiße Band – Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte, directed by Michael Haneke.
From Israel, Ajami—Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani, directors.
From Kazakhstan, Kelin, Ermek Tursunov.
From the Netherlands, Winter in Wartime—Martin Koolhoven, director.
From Peru, The Milk of Sorrow—Claudia Llosa, director.
More information can be found at the AMPAS Official Website or Facebook page.