In Contention

Tag: Here and There

  • Foreign film watch: Uruguay, Mongolia submit

    By the Will of Genghis KhanToday is officially the Academy deadline for Best Foreign Language Film submissions — though countries have made late entries in the past — so expect more titles to trickle in through the day. (Our contenders page is presently up to 59 titles, and counting.)

    Greece, for example, is widely expected to submit Cannes prizewinner “Dogtooth” as their entry later today — we’re just awaiting the official announcement.

    Two to formally add to the pile, however, are Uruguay’s “Bad Day to Go Fishing” and Mongolia’s “By the Will of Genghis Khan.” The latter country, making only their third ever submission, are seeking a first nomination; Uruguay, meanwhile, is still seeking a breakthrough after their only nominated film (“A Place in the World,” 1992) was disqualified by the Academy for having too little local input.

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  • Foreign film news and notes — 40 films so far

    Anne Dorval in I Killed my MotherANOTHER UPDATE: Thanks to emails for keeping me on track here, but there are some titles I failed to mention.  The number is up to 40 now.

    EARLIER: Anne Thompson is reporting that Denmark has submitted “Terribly Happy.”  And Nat has Mexico’s entry as “Backyard.”  Make it 31 films.

    STILL EARLIER: Guy is so much better at keeping track of this stuff than I am. But some things of note recently:

    Serbia has switched it’s entrant from “Here and There” to “Sveti Georgije ubiva azdahu” (“St. George Shoots the Dragon”).

    “Ded na Si Lolo” will represent the Philippines and Canada has selected “I Killed My Mother.”

    indieWIRE is keeping a nice list of films going, but generally speaking, no one does this category better than Nat Rogers at The Film Experience.

    One newsy-ish item: There is talk of “London River” potentially being the Algerian entry. More than 50% of the film is in French, so it’s possible (and would make a handsome nominee, in my opinion).

    Full list of submitted titles after the jump.

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  • Foreign film watch: Finland, Serbia … and Cyndi Lauper

    Cyndi LauperThree more to add to the growing pile of official Best Foreign Language Film submissions:

    Finland (a nominee in 2002 for Aki Kaurismaki’s “The Man Without a Past”) has opted for Klaus Hero’s “Letters to Father Jacob,” a reportedly gentle drama about a paroled murderer who finds redemption working as a secretary to a blind rural priest.

    Sounds Academy-friendly so far; Variety’s rave review, which lauds director and cast alike for making “something fresh and heartrending out of predictable material,” further suggests this could be one to keep an eye on.

    Serbia, still seeking a first nomination in the category, has decided to appeal to American sensibilities by picking the partially New York-set “Here and There,” which follows the trials of an American saxophonist and a Serbian immigrant, each struggling to get by in the other’s country. (Is there enough non-English dialogue to qualify?)

    Well-received at the Tribeca fest earlier this year — Variety makes a charitable comparison to “The Visitor” — where it won a pair of awards including Best New Filmmaker for director Darko Lungulov, it also has the unusual distinction of featuring Cyndi Lauper and her real-life husband in the cast.

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