Official Foreign Language Oscar® Contenders for 85th Academy Awards in 2013
THIS IS THE FINAL LIST. ALL ENTRIES HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED. THE FINAL 9 FILM SHORTLIST IS LISTED AT THE TOP ALPHABETICALLY BY COUNTRY NAME. THE REST OF THE OFFICIAL SUBMISSIONS ARE LISTED AFTERWARDS, ALSO ALPHABETICALLY BY COUNTRY NAME
What's happens next?:
---------------------------------------
(1)With the contenders finalized, the Academy will soon begin its series of official screenings of each of the 71 submissions, to be attended by blocs of volunteer voters from the branch (The rules don't require all the voters to see all the films; rather, voters are divided into separate blocs and each bloc is assigned a portion of the 71 submissions to vote on).
(2) On December 21, the six top vote-getters from this process will be joined by three extra titles chosen by an executive committee, making up a nine-film shortlist.
(3) From January 4-January 6, the entire foreign language film branch of the Academy will view and vote on 3 of the 9 shortlisted films each day. The top five vote-getters from this process will determine the final five nominees which will be announced on January 10.
*Iran has officially boycotted the 2013 Oscars and will not submit their choice "A Cube of Sugar". Egypt and Lebanon have not made an official statement but they also did not submit films this year.
What's happens next?:
---------------------------------------
(1)With the contenders finalized, the Academy will soon begin its series of official screenings of each of the 71 submissions, to be attended by blocs of volunteer voters from the branch (The rules don't require all the voters to see all the films; rather, voters are divided into separate blocs and each bloc is assigned a portion of the 71 submissions to vote on).
(2) On December 21, the six top vote-getters from this process will be joined by three extra titles chosen by an executive committee, making up a nine-film shortlist.
(3) From January 4-January 6, the entire foreign language film branch of the Academy will view and vote on 3 of the 9 shortlisted films each day. The top five vote-getters from this process will determine the final five nominees which will be announced on January 10.
*Iran has officially boycotted the 2013 Oscars and will not submit their choice "A Cube of Sugar". Egypt and Lebanon have not made an official statement but they also did not submit films this year.
List activity
41K views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
71 titles
- DirectorMichael HanekeStarsJean-Louis TrintignantEmmanuelle RivaIsabelle HuppertGeorges and Anne are an octogenarian couple. They are cultivated, retired music teachers. Their daughter, also a musician, lives in Britain with her family. One day, Anne has a stroke, and the couple's bond of love is severely tested.In the Running:Best Foreign Language Film - OFFICIAL AUSTRIA SUBMISSION
STATUS: FINALIST (Selected for the 9 Film Shortlist)
Footage Released:
Trailer(with English Subtitles):[link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Tuc3zjvJU8[/link]
Director's Oscar History: 5 Submissions (1989,1992,2001,2005,2009), 1 Nomination
Country's Oscar History: 1 Win, 3 Nominations, 35 Submissions - DirectorKim NguyenStarsRachel MwanzaAlain Lino Mic Eli BastienSerge KanyindaSomewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa, Komona, a 14-year-old girl, tells her unborn child growing inside her the story of her life since she has been at war. Everything started when she was abducted by the rebel army at the age of 12.In the Running: Best Foreign Language Film - OFFICIAL CANADA SUBMISSION
STATUS: FINALIST (Selected for the 9 Film Shortlist)
Footage Released:
Trailer 1 (no English subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKXEh_kfPCY [/link]
Trailer 2 (with English subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3bVO_rT9Ww [/link]
Director's Foreign Language Oscar History: N/A
Country's Oscar History: 1 Win, 6 Nominations, 37 Submissions - DirectorPablo LarraínStarsGael García BernalAlfredo CastroAntonia ZegersAn advertising executive comes up with a campaign to defeat Augusto Pinochet in Chile's 1988 referendum.In the Running: Best Foreign Language Film - OFFICIAL CHILE SUBMISSION
STATUS: FINALIST (Selected for the 9 Film Shortlist)
Footage Released:
Clip 1 (with English Subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFjxyBQ2AR4 [/link]
Director's Oscar History: 1 Submission (2008), 0 Nominations
Country's Oscar History: 0 Wins, 0 Nominations, 16 Submissions - DirectorNikolaj ArcelStarsAlicia VikanderMads MikkelsenMikkel Boe FølsgaardA young queen, who is married to an insane king, falls secretly in love with her physician - and together they start a revolution that changes a nation forever.In the Running: Best Foreign Language Film - OFFICIAL DENMARK SUBMISSION
STATUS: FINALIST (Selected for the 9 Film Shortlist)
Footage Released:
Trailer 1 (no English Subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00JLNhu5CoI [/link]
Trailer 2 (with English Subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiHnVMHk6YU [/link]
Clip (with English Subtitles):
[link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0RLnlX9ajY&feature=g-u-u [/link]
Director's Foreign Language Oscar History: N/A
Country's Oscar History: 3 Wins, 8 Nominations, 49 Submissions - DirectorOlivier NakacheÉric ToledanoStarsFrançois CluzetOmar SyAnne Le NyAfter he becomes a quadriplegic from a paragliding accident, an aristocrat hires a young man from the projects to be his caregiver.In the Running: Best Foreign Language Film - OFFICIAL FRANCE SUBMISSION
STATUS: FINALIST (Selected for the 9 Film Shortlist)
Footage Released:
Trailer 1 (with English subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otpJgjrJ0ig [/link]
Trailer 2 (with English subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olhg1suvE60 [/link]
Clip 1: [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyShaZlFCg0 [/link]
Clip 2: [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjDCW3VO890 [/link]
Director's Oscar History: N/A
Country's Oscar History: 12 Wins, 36 Nominations, 59 Submissions - DirectorBaltasar KormákurStarsÓlafur Darri ÓlafssonStefán Hallur StefánssonJoi JohannssonBased on actual events, a fisherman tries to survive in the freezing ocean after his boat capsizes off the south coast of Iceland.In the Running: Best Foreign Language Film - OFFICIAL ICELAND SUBMISSION
STATUS: FINALIST (Selected for the 9 Film Shortlist)
Footage Released:
Trailer (no English subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2cXyRli7R4 [/link]
Director's Foreign Language Oscar History: 3 Submissions (2002,2007,2008), 0 Nominations
Country's Oscar History: 0 Wins, 1 Nominations, 32 Submissions - DirectorJoachim RønningEspen SandbergStarsPål Sverre HagenAnders BaasmoGustaf SkarsgårdIn 1947, with five loyal friends in tow, explorer Thor Heyerdahl sails a fragile balsa wood raft along an ancient path some 4,300 miles across the Pacific.In the Running: Best Foreign Language Film - OFFICIAL NORWAY SUBMISSION
STATUS: FINALIST (Selected for the 9 Film Shortlist)
Footage Released:
Teaser 1 (no English Subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01YDGLdLJU4&feature=channel&list=UL [/link]
Trailer 1 (no English Subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4DZ7svBw7I [/link]
Trailer 2 (no English Subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8RID64X218&feature=channel&list=UL [/link]
Director's Foreign Language Oscar History: 1 Submission (2009), 0 Nominations (Writer has 2 Submissions (1990,1994), 0 Nominations)
Country's Oscar History: 0 Wins, 4 Nominations, 33 Submissions - DirectorCristian MungiuStarsCosmina StratanCristina FluturValeriu AndriutaThe friendship between two young women who grew up in the same orphanage; one has found refuge at a convent in Romania and refuses to leave with her friend, who now lives in Germany.In the Running: Best Foreign Language Film - OFFICIAL ROMANIA SUBMISSION
STATUS: FINALIST (Selected for the 9 Film Shortlist)
Footage Released:
Trailer (with English subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiJRGbCKCu0 [/link]
Clip (with English subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAt7gVFYXpw [/link]
Director's Foreign Language Oscar History: 1 Submission (2007), 0 Nominations
Country's Oscar History: 0 Wins, 0 Nominations, 27 Submissions - DirectorUrsula MeierStarsLéa SeydouxKacey Mottet KleinMartin CompstonA drama set at a Swiss ski resort and centered on a boy who supports his sister by stealing from wealthy guests.In the Running: Best Foreign Language Film - OFFICIAL SWITZERLAND SUBMISSION
STATUS: FINALIST (Selected for the 9 Film Shortlist)
Footage Released:
Trailer 1 (no English subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mfnw4F3ZWU [/link]
Trailer 2 (with English subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFVTNTd2EL4 [/link]
Director's Foreign Language Oscar History: 1 Submission (2009), 0 Nominations
Country's Oscar History: 2 Wins, 5 Nominations, 39 Submissions - DirectorAtiq RahimiStarsGolshifteh FarahaniHamid DjavadanHassina BurganIn a war ridden country a woman watches over the husband reduced to a vegetable state by a bullet in the neck, abandoned by Jihad companions and brothers. One day, the woman decides to say things to him she could never have done before.In the Running: Best Foreign Language Film - OFFICIAL AFGHANISTAN SUBMISSION
Footage Released:
Trailer (with English subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XywUr9zBOWU [/link]
STATUS: [RED]FAILED TO MAKE SHORTLIST/RED]
Director's Foreign Language Oscar History: 1 Submission (2004), 0 Nominations
Country's Oscar History: 0 Wins, 0 Nominations, 6 Submissions - DirectorJoni ShanajStarsKlevis BegaOlta GixhariNiko KanxheriA young pharmacist enters into a casual relationship with a young woman alleged to be his father's secret mistress, in contemporary Tirana.In the Running: Best Foreign Language Film - OFFICIAL ALBANIA SUBMISSION
Footage Released:
Teaser 1 (no English subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHnOdjNdIik&feature=plcp [/link]
Teaser 2 (no English subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OT6U3jrjYE&feature=plcp [/link]
Trailer 1 (no English subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7w70JDvyEQ&feature=plcp [/link]
Trailer 2 (with English subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCGUfNgrHFI&feature=plcp [/link]
STATUS: [RED]FAILED TO MAKE SHORTLIST/RED]
Director's Foreign Language Oscar History: N/A
Country's Oscar History: 0 Wins, 0 Nominations, 6 Submissions - DirectorSaïd Ould KhelifaStarsImad BenchenniKhaled BenaïssaAbdelkader DjeriouAlgeria's entry for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, "Zabana" chronicles the life of Ahmed Zabana, a man who fought for Algerian freedom in the Battle of Algiers. This film chronicles Zabana's fight to free his country to independence, and his death at the hands of French authorities.In the Running: Best Foreign Language Film - OFFICIAL ALGERIA SUBMISSION
Footage Released:
Trailer (with English subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNxhJz035-8 [/link]
STATUS: [RED]FAILED TO MAKE SHORTLIST/RED]
Director's Foreign Language Oscar History: N/A
Country's Oscar History: 1 Wins, 5 Nominations, 15 Submissions - DirectorBenjamín ÁvilaStarsErnesto AlterioNatalia OreiroCésar TroncosoJuan lives in clandestinity. Just like his mum, his dad and his adored uncle Beto, outside his home he has another name. At school, Juan is known as Ernesto. And he meets María, who only has one name. Based on true facts, set in the Argentina of 1979, this film is "one about love".In the Running: Best Foreign Language Film - OFFICIAL ARGENTINA SUBMISSION
Footage Released:
Teaser (nO English subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GwjtjImcwA [/link]
Trailer (no English subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYXvxkuuDx8 [/link]
Trailer 2 (no English subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQKwep5wuAU [/link]
STATUS: [RED]FAILED TO MAKE SHORTLIST/RED]
Director's Foreign Language Oscar History: N/A
Country's Oscar History: 2 Wins, 6 Nominations, 38 Submissions - DirectorNataliya BelyauskeneStarsKatya ChitovaMichael PoghosianVahagn SimonyanThe story of friendship between an Armenian veteran of the Nagorno-Karabakh war and the daughter of one of his fallen comrades.In the Running: Best Foreign Language Film - OFFICIAL ARMENIA SUBMISSION
Footage Released:
Trailer (no English subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HuL5sIZj4E [/link]
STATUS: [RED]FAILED TO MAKE SHORTLIST/RED]
Director's Foreign Language Oscar History: N/A
Country's Oscar History: 0 Wins, 0 Nominations, 3 Submissions [Includes Armenia SSR (1947-1991) & Independent Armenia (1992-Now)] - DirectorCate ShortlandStarsSaskia RosendahlKai-Peter MalinaNele TrebsAs the Allies sweep across Germany, Lore leads her siblings on a journey that exposes them to the truth of their parents' beliefs. An encounter with a mysterious refugee forces Lore to rely on a person she has always been taught to hate.In the Running: Best Foreign Language Film - OFFICIAL AUSTRALIA SUBMISSION
STATUS: [RED]FAILED TO MAKE SHORTLIST/RED]
Footage Released:
Trailer (with English subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPo0bDh-AOY [/link]
Director's Oscar History: N/A
Country's Oscar History: 0 Wins, 0 Nominations, 5 Submissions - DirectorIlgar NajafStarsRafig GuliyevTofig AliyevElnur Karimov"Buta" is the story of a lonely 7-year old boy (named Buta), who lives in a mountain village with his grandmother. He is befriended by an old man, a liquid soap merchant who once loved (and lost) Buta's grandmother. The old man's friendship and wise advice helps Buta to overcome his difficulties in life. Buta's grandmother, in the meantime, is weaving a special carpet in memory of Buta's mother. The carpet features a special pattern (also called "Buta"), which represents love. The boy is inspired by his grandmother's work, and decides to make his own "buta" made of rocks and stones, high on the top of the mountain...In the Running: Best Foreign Language Film - OFFICIAL AZERBAIJAN SUBMISSION
Footage Released:
Trailer 1 (no English subtitles):[link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15OawsqvhRo&feature=channel&list=UL[/link]
Trailer 2 (no English subtitles):[link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2BMJ6bgoN4&feature=channel&list=UL[/link]
Trailer 3 (no English subtitles):[link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxlz7Eq4uIs&feature=channel&list=UL[/link]
STATUS: [RED]FAILED TO MAKE SHORTLIST/RED]
Director's Foreign Language Oscar History: N/A
Country's Oscar History: 0 Wins, 0 Nominations, 3 Submissions [Includes Azerbaijan SSR (1947-1991) & Independent Azerbaijan (1992-Now)] - DirectorHumayun AhmedStarsMamunTariq Anam KhanMunmun AhmedStory of a teenage boy who is hired by a colonial era landlord to entertain him until the annual flood is over.In the Running: Best Foreign Language Film - OFFICIAL BANGLADESH SUBMISSION
Footage Released: N/A
STATUS: [RED]FAILED TO MAKE SHORTLIST/RED]
Director's Foreign Language Oscar History: 1 Submission (2005), 0 Nominations
Country's Oscar History: 0 Wins, 0 Nominations, 7 Submissions - DirectorJoachim LafosseStarsÉmilie DequenneClaire BodsonNiels ArestrupHappy couple, will marry and have children under the roof of the benevolent Doctor. Little by little, relationships become complex, suffocating the couple and the family, who are unaware of the tragic end towards which they are headingIn the Running: Best Foreign Language Film - OFFICIAL BELGIUM SUBMISSION
Footage Released:
Trailer (with English Subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NahXt2OhS3Y [/link]
STATUS: [RED]FAILED TO MAKE SHORTLIST/RED]
Director's Foreign Language Oscar History: N/A
Country's Oscar History: 0 Wins, 6 Nominations, 36 Submissions - DirectorAida BegicStarsMarija PikicIsmir GagulaBojan NavojecSiblings Rahima and Nedim are the Bosnian war orphans. She works as a restaurant chef and earns just enough money to survive.In the Running: Best Foreign Language Film - OFFICIAL BOSNIA and HERZEGOVINA SUBMISSION
Footage Released:
Clip 1 (with English Subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSKhfDVF7S8 [/link]
Clip 2 (with English Subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZHSG9NZ3ZQ&feature=channel&list=UL [/link]
Clip 3 (with English Subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMbRhuOJg3E&feature=channel&list=UL [/link]
STATUS: [RED]FAILED TO MAKE SHORTLIST/RED]
Director's Foreign Language Oscar History: 1 Submission (2008), 0 Nominations
Country's Oscar History: 1 Win, 7 Nomination, 40 Submissions [Includes SFR Yugoslavia (1947-1991) & Independent Bosnia/Herzegovina (1992-Now)] - DirectorSelton MelloStarsSelton MelloPaulo JoséLarissa ManoelaFather and son work as clowns Puro Sangue/Valdemar and Pangare/Benjamin in a circus in the Brazilian countryside. Benjamin decides to follow a different path and meets several people on the way.In the Running: Best Foreign Language Film - OFFICIAL BRAZIL SUBMISSION
Footage Released:
Trailer (with English subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFD0XK2Xods[/link]
56 Clips: [link]http://www.youtube.com/user/OPalhacoOfilme?feature=CBQQwRs%3D [/link]
STATUS: [RED]FAILED TO MAKE SHORTLIST/RED]
Director's Foreign Language Oscar History: N/A
Country's Oscar History: 0 Wins, 4 Nominations, 39 Submissions - DirectorIvan VladimirovValeri YordanovStarsIvo ArakovPhillip AvramovIvan BarnevThe story of a Summer shared by six young people. It all begins with their escapes from the bleak and dreary City. Each one of them escapes East of Hell... to the point farthest away, the sea coast, a clean and pristine beach. The clean beach brings them together and reopens the prospective of hope to them all. But is such an escape at all possible?In the Running: Best Foreign Language Film - OFFICIAL BULGARIA SUBMISSION
Footage Released:
Trailer (with English subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBQ24p4lfp8[/link]
STATUS: [RED]FAILED TO MAKE SHORTLIST/RED]
Director's Foreign Language Oscar History: N/A
Country's Oscar History: 0 Wins, 0 Nominations, 22 Submissions - DirectorBora ChhayStarsNeak ChinSoutheary KauvSopheak NhemThe heart wrenching true story of Leav Sila, just one of many countless mothers that did all they could to keep their family alive, only to see the vast majority be killed or starve to death in the fateful years of the Khmer Rouge regime. Written and starring Kauv Sotheary, one of only two surviving children of Leav Sila, it gives a brutal yet captivating insight into the extremity of this painful chapter in history. LOST LOVES is directed by Chhay Bora, Kauv Sottheary's husband. Both being university lecturers, they have spent their life savings on this project, not for personal gain, but because Leav Sila's story, like many thousands of that period, needed to be told. The new generation of Cambodians must learn their history so as to never repeat it.In the Running: Best Foreign Language Film - OFFICIAL CAMBODIA SUBMISSION
Footage Released:
Trailer (with English subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaGhuJGnyTk [/link]
STATUS: [RED]FAILED TO MAKE SHORTLIST/RED]
Director's Foreign Language Oscar History: N/A
Country's Oscar History: 0 Wins, 0 Nominations, 1 Submissions - DirectorKaige ChenStarsYuanyuan GaoChen YaoMark ChaoThe story begins on a bus, when white-collar worker Ye refuses to give up her seat to a senior citizen. Her defiance is videotaped by a journalist intern and played during a news show. The video sparks intense debate on and off the Internet. Some Internet users search for Ye's personal information and post it all online. The issue soon brings tremendous changes to the families of both the journalist intern and Ye's boss.In the Running: Best Foreign Language Film - OFFICIAL CHINA SUBMISSION
Footage Released:
Trailer (with English subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1su_kB-PFOs [/link]
STATUS: [RED]FAILED TO MAKE SHORTLIST/RED]
Director's Foreign Language Oscar History: 3 Submissions (1993, 2005,2009), 1 Nomination (1993)
Country's Oscar History: 0 Wins, 2 Nominations, 25 Submissions - DirectorCarlos MorenoJuancho CardonaStarsManolo CardonaJuana AcostaDiego CadavidThe life of Andres Lopez Lopez during his years involved with the Colombian Cartel aka "Cartel Norte del Valle".In the Running: Best Foreign Language Film - OFFICIAL COLUMBIA SUBMISSION
Footage Released:
Trailer (no English subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9vx8jpV2WY [/link]
STATUS: [RED]FAILED TO MAKE SHORTLIST/RED]
Director's Foreign Language Oscar History: 1 Submission (2008), 0 Nominations
Country's Oscar History: 0 Wins, 0 Nominations, 20 Submissions - DirectorBranko SchmidtStarsRene BitorajacNatasa Janjic MedancicLeon LucevA medical horror of corrupt gynecologists and true events from Croatian hospitals that will shock the public.In the Running: Best Foreign Language Film - OFFICIAL CROATIA SUBMISSION
Footage Released:
Trailer (no English subtitles): [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMOjFZ8U_-w [/link]
STATUS: [RED]FAILED TO MAKE SHORTLIST/RED]
Director's Foreign Language Oscar History: 2 Submissions (1994,2001), 0 Nominations
Country's Oscar History: 0 Wins, 6 Nominations, 49 Submissions [Includes SFR Yugoslavia (1947-1991) & Independent Croatia(1992-Now)]