67 Countries Vying for 2008 Foreign Language Film Oscar

Beverly Hills, CA (October 17, 2008)— A record 67 countries, including first-time entrant Jordan, have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 81st Academy Awards^®, Academy President Sid Ganis announced today.

The 2008 submissions are:

Afghanistan, “Opium War,” Siddiq Barmak, director;
Albania, “The Sorrow of Mrs. Schneider,” Piro Milkani and Eno Milkani, directors;
Algeria, “Masquerades,” Lyes Salem, director;
Argentina, “Lion’s Den,” Pablo Trapero, director;
Austria, “Revanche,” Gotz Spielmann, director;
Azerbaijan, “Fortress,” Shamil Nacafzada, director;
Bangladesh, “Aha!,” Enamul Karim Nirjhar, director;
Belgium, “Eldorado,” Bouli Lanners, director;
Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Snow,” Aida Begic, director;
Brazil, “Last Stop 174,” Bruno Barreto, director;
Bulgaria, “Zift,” Javor Gardev, director;
Canada, “The Necessities of Life,” Benoit Pilon, director;
Chile, “Tony Manero,” Pablo Larrain, director;
China, “Dream Weavers,” Jun Gu, director;
Colombia, “Dog Eat Dog,” Carlos Moreno, director;
Croatia, “No One’s Son,” Arsen Anton Ostojic, director;
Czech Republic, “The Karamazovs,” Petr Zelenka, director;
Denmark, “Worlds Apart,” Niels Arden Oplev, director;
Egypt, “The Island,” Sherif Arafa, director;
Estonia, “I Was Here,” Rene Vilbre, director;
Finland, “The Home of Dark Butterflies,” Dome Karukoski, director;
France, “The Class,” Laurent Cantet, director;
Georgia, “Mediator,” Dito Tsintsadze, director;
Germany, “The Baader Meinhof Complex,” Uli Edel, director;
Greece, “Correction,” Thanos Anastopoulos, director;
Hong Kong, “Painted Skin,” Gordon Chan, director;
Hungary, “Iska’s Journey,” Csaba Bollok, director;
Iceland, “White Night Wedding,” Baltasar Kormakur, director;
India, “Taare Zameen Par,” Aamir Khan, director;
Iran, “The Song of Sparrows,” Majid Majidi, director;
Israel, “Waltz with Bashir,” Ari Folman, director;
Italy, “Gomorra,” Matteo Garrone, director;
Japan, “Departures,” Yojiro Takita, director;
Jordan, “Captain Abu Raed,” Amin Matalqa, director;
Kazakhstan, “Tulpan,” Sergey Dvortsevoy, director;
Korea, “Crossing,” Tae-kyun Kim, director;
Kyrgyzstan, “Heavens Blue,” Marie Jaoul de Poncheville, director;
Latvia, “Defenders of Riga,” Aigars Grauba, director;
Lebanon, “Under the Bombs,” Philippe Aractingi, director;
Lithuania, “Loss,” Maris Martinsons, director;
Luxembourg, “Nuits d’Arabie,” Paul Kieffer, director;
Macedonia, “I’m from Titov Veles,” Teona Strugar Mitevska, director;
Mexico, “Tear This Heart Out,” Roberto Sneider, director;
Morocco, “Goodbye Mothers,” Mohamed Ismail, director;
The Netherlands, “Dunya & Desie,” Dana Nechushtan, director;
Norway, “O’Horten,” Bent Hamer, director;
Palestine, “Salt of This Sea” Annemarie Jacir, director;
Philippines, “Ploning,” Dante Nico Garcia, director;
Poland, “Tricks,” Andrzej Jakimowski, director;
Portugal, “Our Beloved Month of August,” Miguel Gomes, director;
Romania, “The Rest Is Silence,” Nae Caranfil, director;
Russia, “Mermaid,” Anna Melikyan, director;
Serbia, “The Tour,” Goran Markovic, director;
Singapore, “My Magic,” Eric Khoo, director;
Slovakia, “Blind Loves,” Juraj Lehotsky, director;
Slovenia, “Rooster’s Breakfast,” Marko Nabersnik, director;
South Africa, “Jerusalema,” Ralph Ziman, director;
Spain, “The Blind Sunflowers,” Jose Luis Cuerda, director;
Sweden, “Everlasting Moments,” Jan Troell, director;
Switzerland, “The Friend,” Micha Lewinsky, director;
Taiwan, “Cape No. 7,” Te-Sheng Wei, director;
Thailand, “Love of Siam,” Chookiat Sakveerakul, director;
Turkey, “3 Monkeys,” Nuri Bilge Ceylan, director;
Ukraine, “Illusion of Fear,” Aleksandr Kiriyenko, director;
United Kingdom, “Hope Eternal,” Karl Francis, director;
Uruguay, “Kill Them All,” Esteban Schroeder, director;
Venezuela, “The Color of Fame,” Alejandro Bellame Palacios, director.

Nominations for the 81st Academy Awards will be announced on Thursday, January 22, 2009, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2008 will be presented on Sunday, February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center^®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.