Best International Film: Belgium, Kosovo, Russia

by Cláudio Alves

Our odyssey through the Best International Film submissions continues, this time focused on women behind the camera. As Juan Carlos' series Through Her Lens reminds us, there's a wealth of women directors every year whose work gets forgotten in lieu of their male counterparts. Of course, that's true in the Best Director Oscar race, but it also applies to every other category, including this one. From schoolyard bullying shot as psychological warfare to the physical aftermaths of an unspoken massacre, the submissions from Belgium, Kosovo, and Russia showcase the talent of female artists who explore many shades of brutality through a woman's point-of-view…

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Intriguing Foreign Film Oscar options from Kosovo, Norway, and more

by Nathaniel R

We're now up to 24 Oscar submissions so we're almost a third of our way to seeing the full list. Here are the new announcements since the last post. (You can see the full submission list, with more details and links to trailers and such, on the updated Oscar charts.) Surprisingly none of the three expected frontrunners (Poland's Cold War,  Mexico's Roma, and Lebanon's Capernaum) have been officially announced as submissions yet. We have long lists for Brazil, Denmark, The Netherlands, and Israel to date but no official pick. We've usually heard about Mexico's longlist by now as well. Hmmm. 

• The Waldheim Waltz -Austria 
  Documentary on a former UN Secretary General's relationship with the Nazis
• The Eighth Commisioner -Croatia 
  A comedy about a politician overseeing an election on a remote island
• A Son of Man  -Ecuador
  Father and son search for inca gold
• Euthanizer - Finland
  A dark morality tale about a mechanic who puts sick pets out of their misery... it's apparently pro-animal and anti-irresponsible pet owners though it sounds horrifying on surface. 
• Namme  - Georgia
  A family drama about the tradition of local healing waters threatened by environmental problems
• The Marriage - Kosovo
  A gay love triangle in which a woman doesn't know her fiance is in love with his best friend
• What Will People Say - Norway
  A Pakistani-Norwegian teenager is kidnapped by her parents and taken to Pakistan (where she has never been) to teach her a lesson. This film was released in the US back in July and we missed it. Argh!
• Buffalo Boys -Singapore
  A 19th century action movie about two brothers avenging their father, a former Sultan
• The Interpreter -Slovakia
  Two old men journey to meet surviving witnesses of a wartime tragedy

Related:
First 10 official contenders for foreign film
6 more contenders for foreign film
49 suggested European Film Awards contenders
Spain's Finalists
Israel's Finalists