Foreign Language Oscar Submissions

63 countries have managed submissions to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the Foreign Language Oscar this year. The only big controversy/fall-out from the rather elaborate set of AMPAS rules was Israel's heartwarming (and I hear quite good) The Band's Visit (Bikur Ha-Tizmoret) which was disqualified due to too much English in the film. So much for globalism. France surprisingly went with the animated Persepolis over the more Oscar-grab-ish biopic La Vie En Rose. Regardless of the quirks of the system, there are several ScreenAnarchy-y films on the list battling it out for a nomination (on Jan. 22, 2008), not the least of which is Spain's The Orphanage, Iceland's Jar City, Russia's 12 (a re-envisioning of Sidney Lumet's 12 Angry Men) and Kazakhstan's mega-epic Mongol, Korea's Secret Sunshine and Singapore's 881. Hong Kong's entry is the very much loved Johnny To Spaghetti Western styled gangster pic Exiled, but you know, folks around here would really, really get a kick out of it if Hungary's gallery of the grotesque Taxidermia got to take home a statue. Start Lobbying the Academy now folks.

The full list of Countries and Films after the Jump.

Argentina, “XXY,” Lucia Puenzo, director;
Australia, “The Home Song Stories,” Tony Ayres, director;
Austria, “The Counterfeiters,” Stefan Ruzowitzky, director;
Azerbaijan, “Caucasia,” Farid Gumbatov, director;
Bangladesh, “On the Wings of Dreams,” Golam Rabbany Biplob, director;
Belgium, “Ben X,” Nic Balthazar, director;
Bosnia and Herzegovina, “It’s Hard to Be Nice,” Srdan Vuletic, director;
Brazil, “The Year My Parents Went on Vacation,” Cao Hamburger, director;
Bulgaria, “Warden of the Dead,” Ilian Simeonov, director;
Canada, “Days of Darkness,” Denys Arcand, director;
Chile, “Padre Nuestro,” Rodrigo Sepulveda, director;
China, “The Knot,” Yin Li, director;
Colombia, “Satanas,” Andi Baiz, director;
Croatia, “Armin,” Ognjen Svilicic, director;
Cuba, “The Silly Age,” Pavel Giroud, director;
Czech Republic, “I Served the King of England,” Jiri Menzel, director;
Denmark, “The Art of Crying,” Peter Schonau Fog, director;
Egypt, “In the Heliopolis Flat,” Mohamed Khan, director;
Estonia, “The Class,” Ilmar Raag, director;
Finland, “A Man’s Job,” Aleksi Salmenpera, director;
France, “Persepolis,” Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud, directors;
Georgia, “The Russian Triangle,” Aleko Tsabadze, director;
Germany, “The Edge of Heaven,” Fatih Akin, director;
Greece, “Eduart,” Angeliki Antoniou, director;
Hong Kong, “Exiled,” Johnnie To, director;
Hungary, “Taxidermia,” Gyorgy Palfi, director;
Iceland, “Jar City,” Baltasar Kormakur, director;
India, “Eklavya – The Royal Guard,” Vidhu Vinod Chopra, director;
Indonesia, “Denias, Singing on the Cloud,” John De Rantau, director;
Iran, “M for Mother,” Rasoul Mollagholipour, director;
Iraq, “Jani Gal,” Jamil Rostami, director;
Ireland, “Kings,” Tom Collins, director;
Israel, “Beaufort,” Joseph Cedar, director;
Italy, “The Unknown,” Giuseppe Tornatore, director;
Japan, “I Just Didn’t Do It,” Masayuki Suo, director;
Kazakhstan, “Mongol,” Sergei Bodrov, director;
Korea, “Secret Sunshine,” Chang-dong Lee, director;
Lebanon, “Caramel,” Nadine Labaki, director;
Luxembourg, “Little Secrets,” Pol Cruchten, director;
Macedonia, “Shadows,” Milcho Manchevski, director;
Mexico, “Silent Light,” Carlos Reygadas, director;
The Netherlands, “Duska,” Jos Stelling, director;
Norway, “Gone with the Woman,” Petter Naess, director;
Peru, “Crossing a Shadow,” Augusto Tamayo, director;
Philippines, “Donsol,” Adolfo Alix, Jr., director;
Poland, “Katyn,” Andrzej Wajda, director;
Portugal, “Belle Toujours,” Manoel de Oliveira, director;
Puerto Rico, “Love Sickness,” Carlitos Ruiz, Mariem Perez, directors;
Romania, “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days,” Cristian Mungiu, director;
Russia, “12,” Nikita Mikhalkov, director;
Serbia, “The Trap,” Srdan Golubovic, director;
Singapore, “881,” Royston Tan, director;
Slovakia, “Return of the Storks,” Martin Repka, director;
Slovenia, “Short Circuits,” Janez Lapajne, director;
Spain, “The Orphanage,” J.A. Bayona, director;
Sweden, “You, the Living,” Roy Andersson, director;
Switzerland, “Late Bloomers,” Bettina Oberli, director;
Taiwan, “Island Etude,” Chen Huai-En, director;
Thailand, “King of Fire,” Chatrichalerm Yukol, director;
Turkey, “A Man’s Fear of God,” Ozer Kiziltan, director;
Uruguay, “The Pope’s Toilet,” Enrique Fernandez, Cesar Charlone, directors;
Venezuela, “Postcards from Leningrad,” Mariana Rondon, director;
Vietnam, “The White Silk Dress,” Luu Huynh, director.