Oscars Attract Best Foreign-Language Film Submissions From a Record 83 Countries

Films from a record 83 countries have been submitted for consideration for the best foreign-language film Oscar, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today. The list of countries throwing their hat into the Oscar ring continues to grow. In 2012, there were 71 submissions, and last year 76 films were submitted.

The submissions include a number of films that claimed prizes at the Cannes Film Festival like this year’s Palme d’Or winner, Nuri Bilge Ceylan‘s Winter Sleep, from Turkey; best screenplay winner, Andrey Zvyagintsev‘s Leviathan, from Russia; and Jury Prize winner, Xavier Dolan‘s Mommy, from Canada.

The brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardennes saw Belgium submit their latest film Two Days, One Night, starring Marion Cotillard. Other films that have received exposure on the festival circuit include the French entry, Bertrand Bonello‘s Saint Laurent, a biopic about the French designer Yves Saint Laurent; Pawel Pawlikowski‘s Polish drama Ida, about a nun-in-training who discovers a family secret; and Damian Szifron‘s Wild Tales, a comedy from Argentina. Mexico is represented by Sebastian del Amo‘s Cantinflas, a movie about the Mexican film star, which has attracted $6.3 million in U.S. theaters since it opened in the States in August.

Four countries submitted films for the first time. They are: Kosovo, which sent in Isa Qosja‘s Three Windows and a Hanging; Malta, which entered Rebecca Cremona‘s Simshar; Mauritania, which submitted Abderrahmane Sissako‘s Timbuktu; and Panama, which put forward Abner Benaim‘s Invasion.

Countries from around the world were invited to submit one film each by Oct. 1. The films will now be screened for Academy committees, which will winnow the list down to a shortlist of nine films that will be announced in December. The five nominees, which will be drawn from that list, will be announced on Jan. 15, when the full list of nominees for the 87th Academy Awards is revealed.

The complete list follows:

Afghanistan, “A Few Cubic Meters of Love,” Jamshid Mahmoudi, director

Argentina, “Wild Tales,” Damian Szifron, director

Australia, “Charlie’s Country,” Rolf de Heer, director

 

Austria, “The Dark Valley,” Andreas Prochaska, director

 

Azerbaijan, “Nabat,” Elchin Musaoglu, director 

 

Bangladesh, “Glow of the Firefly,” Khalid Mahmood Mithu, director

 

Belgium, “Two Days, One Night,” Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne, directors 

 

Bolivia, “Forgotten,” Carlos Bolado, director 

 

Bosnia and Herzegovina, “With Mom,” Faruk Loncarevic, director

 

Brazil, “The Way He Looks,” Daniel Ribeiro, director

 

Bulgaria, “Bulgarian Rhapsody,” Ivan Nitchev, director

 

Canada, “Mommy,” Xavier Dolan, director

 

Chile, “To Kill a Man,” Alejandro Fernandez Almendras, director

 

China, “The Nightingale,” Philippe Muyl, director 

 

Colombia, “Mateo,” María Gamboa, director 

 

Costa Rica, “Red Princesses,” Laura Astorga Carrera, director

 

Croatia, “Cowboys,” Tomislav Mrsic, director

 

Cuba, “Conducta,” Ernesto Daranas Serrano, director

 

Czech Republic, “Fair Play,” Andrea Sedlackova, director

 

Denmark, “Sorrow and Joy,” Nils Malmros, director

 

Dominican Republic, “Cristo Rey,” Leticia Tonos, director

 

Ecuador, “Silence in Dreamland,” Tito Molina, director 

 

Egypt, “Factory Girl,” Mohamed Khan, director

 

Estonia, “Tangerines,” Zaza Urushadze, director

 

Ethiopia, “Difret,” Zeresenay Berhane Mehari, director

 

Finland, “Concrete Night,” Pirjo Honkasalo, director

 

France, “Saint Laurent,” Bertrand Bonello, director 

 

Georgia, “Corn Island,” George Ovashvili, director 

 

Germany, “Beloved Sisters,” Dominik Graf, director 

 

Greece, “Little England,” Pantelis Voulgaris, director 

 

Hong Kong, “The Golden Era,” Ann Hui, director

 

Hungary, “White God,” Kornel Mundruczo, director

 

Iceland, “Life in a Fishbowl,” Baldvin Zophoniasson, director

 

India, “Liar’s Dice,” Geetu Mohandas, director

 

Indonesia, “Soekarno,” Hanung Bramantyo, director 

 

Iran, “Today,” Reza Mirkarimi, director

 

Iraq, “Mardan,” Batin Ghobadi, director 

 

Ireland, “The Gift,” Tom Collins, director

 

Israel, “Gett, the Trial of Viviane Amsalem,” Ronit Elkabetz and Shlomi Elkabetz, directors

 

Italy, “Human Capital,” Paolo Virzi, director

 

Japan, “The Light Shines Only There,” Mipo O, director

 

Kosovo, “Three Windows and a Hanging,” Isa Qosja, director

 

Kyrgyzstan, “Kurmanjan Datka Queen of the Mountains,” Sadyk Sher-Niyaz, director

 

Latvia, “Rocks in My Pockets,” Signe Baumane, director

 

Lebanon, “Ghadi,” Amin Dora, director

 

Lithuania, “The Gambler,” Ignas Jonynas, director

 

Luxembourg, “Never Die Young,” Pol Cruchten, director

 

Macedonia, “To the Hilt,” Stole Popov, director

 

Malta, “Simshar,” Rebecca Cremona, director

 

Mauritania, “Timbuktu,” Abderrahmane Sissako, director

 

Mexico, “Cantinflas,” Sebastian del Amo, director

 

Moldova, “The Unsaved,” Igor Cobileanski, director

 

Montenegro, “The Kids from the Marx and Engels Street,” Nikola Vukcevic, director

 

Morocco, “The Red Moon,” Hassan Benjelloun, director

 

Nepal, “Jhola,” Yadav Kumar Bhattarai, director

 

Netherlands, “Accused,” Paula van der Oest, director

 

New Zealand, “The Dead Lands,” Toa Fraser, director

 

Norway, “1001 Grams,” Bent Hamer, director

 

Pakistan, “Dukhtar,” Afia Nathaniel, director

 

Palestine, “Eyes of a Thief,” Najwa Najjar, director 

 

Panama, “Invasion,” Abner Benaim, director

 

Peru, “The Gospel of the Flesh,” Eduardo Mendoza, director 

 

Philippines, “Norte, the End of History,” Lav Diaz, director

 

Poland, “Ida,” Pawel Pawlikowski, director

 

Portugal, “What Now? Remind Me,” Joaquim Pinto, director

 

Romania, “The Japanese Dog,” Tudor Cristian Jurgiu, director

 

Russia, “Leviathan,” Andrey Zvyagintsev, director

 

Serbia, “See You in Montevideo,” Dragan Bjelogrlic, director 

 

Singapore, “Sayang Disayang,” Sanif Olek, director 

 

Slovakia, “A Step into the Dark,” Miloslav Luther, director 

 

Slovenia, “Seduce Me,” Marko Santicc, director

 

South Africa, “Elelwani,” Ntshavheni Wa Luruli, director

 

South Korea, “Haemoo,” Shim Sung-bo, director 

 

Spain, “Living Is Easy With Eyes Closed,” David Trueba, director

 

Sweden, “Force Majeure,” Ruben Ostlund, director 

 

Switzerland, “The Circle,” Stefan Haupt, director 

 

Taiwan, “Ice Poison,” Midi Z, director

 

Thailand, “The Teacher’s Diary,” Nithiwat Tharathorn, director

 

Turkey, “Winter Sleep,” Nuri Bilge Ceylan, director

 

Ukraine, “The Guide,” Oles Sanin, director

 

United Kingdom, “Little Happiness,” Nihat Seven, director

 

Uruguay, “Mr. Kaplan,” Alvaro Brechner, director

 

Venezuela, “The Liberator,” Alberto Arvelo, director

 

Oct. 11, 9:04 a.m. Updated with the title of Malta’s selection.