New Official Foreign Submissions. "Amour" Leads the Oscar Buzz
Friday, September 7, 2012 at 12:12PM 
Hungary chose "Just the Wind / Csak A Szél"Ukraine, Hungary and Azerbaijan join the small ranks of countries who have officially submitted their Oscar submission for the Best Foreign Language Film category. The Ukraine chose the biopic Firecrosser and Azerbaijan went with Oscar's second favorite storyline in this category with Buta (young child befriended by old person). The big story here, though, if only for being a slight curveball, is that Hungary did not go with a totally outre effort as they've been prone to do as of late. Instead they went with a more sober traditionally artistic effort. Which is not to say that they aren't still pushing the boundaries of what AMPAS will watch. Just the Wind is reportedly harrowing and brutal, dealing with a series of racial murders and poverty.
[Hungary hasn't been nominated since the heyday of István Szabó who had four nominations in the 1980s. Szabó's films were so hot in the US arthouse that his actor muse Klaus Maria Brandauer even flipped over to Hollywood and became an Oscar nominated actor (Out of Africa) and international star for a time.]
You can read more about the films on the official chart, a staple of The Film Experience's famous Oscar coverage. Spread the word about our thorough submission charts!
Will Michael Haneke's AMOUR be a threat for high profile nods like actor, actress, director?
Austria through Iran
4 official submissions thus far but it's Michael Haneke's Amour, from Austria, that's got all the buzz right now. Word has it that they've got their sights set higher than just a lone Oscar nod in this awesome but usually stand-alone category. His previous high profile (Caché had much last minute buzz though no nominations followed) and White Ribbon's two nominations make the case for golden momentum.
Italy through Vietnam
3 official submissions thus far: Serbia, Ukraine, and Venezuela
As always we'd love to hear about your home country's film options. You can email Nathaniel if you have a hot tip or news about your home's selection or the selection process itself.
Amour, Hungary, Michael Haneke, Oscars (12), foreign films
Reader Comments (5)
I guess Amour could win this, from what I've read, it's apparently much more in the academy's ally than any other Haneke.
Hey Nathaniel, whatever happened to that podcast you said you were recording?
I saw love all those Szabó movies that got nominations for us. Mephisto is indeed a masterpiece and I'm so glad it won, even though I loved The Iron Man as well (it was actually kind of an upset). A nomination would mean so much for our industry but it's not too likely. But I won't give up hope, that's for sure. :) It can happen with this one.
This could turn out to hurt Amour's chances in other categories though. Sony Pictures Classics was actually planning on giving the movie a Best Picture push, and if they still plan on going through with it, it'll be an uphill battle now that it's actually eligible in the Foreign Language category. Can it be safely assumed that a big reason why Talk to Her and City of God were nominated for Best Director (among other categories) was the controversy surrounding their disqualifications from the Foreign Language category? I wonder if Guillermo del Toro would have been nominated for Best Director had Pan's Labyrinth been ineligible for Best Foreign Language Film in 2006.
I'm going to be "that commenter" for just a second. It hasn't been called "The" Ukraine since it was part of the USSR. It's just Ukraine now, just like we don't call it "The Spain" or "The Vietnam."
My fingers are crossed for Michael Haneke's "Amour" (he so deserved to win three years ago for "The White Ribbon", "The Secret in Their Eyes" win was such a silly choice by the Academy, especially with Haneke and "A Prophet" among the nominees).