Foreign-language Oscar race breaks record with 83 entries

Foreign-language Oscar race breaks record with 83 entries

PanARMENIAN.Net - A record 83 countries have submitted entries in the 2014 Academy Awards race for Best Foreign Language Film, the Academy announced on Thursday, Oct 9. The field is by far the largest ever in the category, which had a previous high of 76 last year, according to TheWrap.

This marks the third consecutive year that the size of the field has set a new record. In 2012, a then-record 71 films were eligible for the award, a record that stood for only one year.

This year's submissions include films from Mauritania, Malta, Kosovo and Panama, countries that had never before entered the Oscar race.

The Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee spent the last week examining each submission for eligibility. None of the film whose submissions had been announced by their home countries were disqualified.

The formidable field does not have a clear favorite. But the best-known contenders include Andrey Zvyagintsev's powerful “Leviathan” (a surprise Russian selection), Pawel Pawlikowski's arthouse hit “Ida” (Poland), Nuri Bilge Ceylan‘s Cannes Palme d'Or winner “Winter Sleep” (Turkey), the Dardenne brothers’ affecting “Two Days, One Night” with Marion Cotillard (Belgium), Xavier Dolan's bold “Mommy” (Canada), Kornel Mundruczo's brutal “White God” (Hungary), Abderrahmane Sissako's wrenching “Timbuktu” (first-time competitor Mauritania), Damian Szifron's blackly humorous anthology film “Wild Tales” (Argentina) and Ruben Ostlund's subtle but telling “Force Majeure” (Sweden).

Films will be screened for a volunteer committee of Academy members from all branches beginning next Monday, with voters giving each film a number score. A member must see a minimum number of films, either at AMPAS screenings or at outside screenings, for his or her vote to qualify.

The six top-ranked films, based on scores from the qualified voters, will move to a nine-film shortlist, joined by three selections made by a specially chosen executive committee in Los Angeles.

Committees made up of 20 Academy members in L.A., 10 in New York and 10 in London will then view all nine shortlisted films over a three-day period, and vote to select the five nominees.

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