Russia has selected Nelyubov (Loveless), directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev, for best foreign-language film for the Oscars.
The drama is centered on a middle-class family of three Muscovites on the verge of collapse. As neither of the divorcing parents is willing to take their 12-year-old son, the child goes missing.
The film premiered in the official selection of the Cannes international film festival this past May and won the Jury Prize.
Loveless was produced by Non-Stop Productions, Why Not Productions, Arte France Cinema, Les Films du Fleuve and Fetisoff Illusion.
Zvyagintsev’s previous feature, Leviafan (Leviathan), won a Golden Globe in the best foreign-language film category and garnered an Oscar nomination.
Loveless is Russia’s 25th foreign-language Oscar submission since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Nikita Mikhalkov’s Burnt by the Sun won an Academy Award in 1994, and another five movies earned nominations.
