Coming-of-age Tale 'Kauwboy' is Dutch Oscar Entry

our editor recommends

Dutch Drama ‘Kauwboy’ Wins European Young Audience Award

Berlinale Winner 'Sister,' Belgium's 'Blue Bird' and Dutch Feature 'Kauwboy' Nominated for Euro Youth Audience Award

TORONTO - Kauwboy, a coming-of-age tale from director Boudewijn Koole, will represent the Netherlands in the race for the 2013 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

The drama is Koole's directorial debut. Kauwboy premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Best First Feature and Best Youth Film honors.

The plot follows Jojo,a 10-year-old boy whose mother has left him and whose father is volatile and violent, who befriends an abandoned baby jackdaw. The relationship between the boy and his bird help to mend the relationship between Jojo and his father.

Kauwboy has been a festival and audience favorite, picking up the European Film Academy's Young Audience Award as well as the Jury prize for Best European Youth Film, Best Film and Best Actor honors at the Brasilia International Film Festival and the Jury Grand Prix at Tokyo's Kinder Film Festival.

The Netherlands has won the Foreign Language Film Oscar three times: for Fons Rademakers's The Assault in 1986, Antonia's Line from Marleen Gorris in 1998 and for Mike Van Diem's Character in 1997. But there hasn't been a Dutch nominee in the category for a decade, the last being Twin Sisters from director Ben Sombogaart, which was nominated in 2003.

The Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences will announce the nominations for the 2013 Academy Awards on Jan. 15. The 85th Oscar ceremony takes place on Feb. 24, 2013.