Academy announces the Short List for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. The nine films selected for the short list are: Belgium: “The Broken Circle Breakdown,” Directed by Felix van Groeningen, Bosnia and Herzegovina: “An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker,” Directed by Danis Tanovic, Cambodia: “The Missing Picture,” Directed by Rithy Panh. Denmark: “The Hunt,” Directed by Thomas Vinterberg, Germany: “Two Lives,” Directed by Georg Maas, Hong Kong: “The Grandmaster,” Directed by Wong Kar-wai, Hungary: “The Notebook,” Directed by Janos Szasz, Italy: “The Great Beauty,” Directed by Paolo Sorrentino, and Palestine: “Omar,” Directed by Hany Abu-Assad.
The nominations were made by the foreign-language committee, who screened the 76 films submitted. After nominations are announced, final voting will be determined by Academy voters at large, a dramatic change in rules that begins this year. The Academy will supply screeners of all five contenders to voters.Five films will make the list of finalists when Oscar nominations are unveiled Jan. 16. Awards will be handed out March 2 in ceremonies at the Dolby Theatre.
Other rules are more fluid, including the level of artistic contributions from the country. In an era of joint ventures, few films have clear-cut geographic boundaries, but the principal contributors (writers, directors, producers) should be from the country.
