Greece, Canada announce entries for foreign Oscar race

PanARMENIAN.Net - Greece and Canada have announced their selections in the Oscar foreign-language film race, Variety reports.

Canada has selected Maxime Giroux’s “Felix et Meira”, while Greece is sending Panos H. Koutras’ “Xenia”.

“Felix et Meira,” backed by Telefilm Canada is the story of a love affair between Francophone Quebecer Felix and a young Hasidic Jewish mother, Meira.

“When we started working on ‘Felix et Meira’ in 2011, we never imagined that the movie would be so successful once it was finished,” Giroux said. “The process to secure funding for the project was particularly difficult, but we never questioned the potential of this unique film.”

Strand Releasing’s “Xenia,” premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard. It centers around a gay Cretan teen and his brother who seek their future and their estranged father in Greece.

The deadline to submit foreign-language entries is Oct. 1. The nominations will be announced Jan. 14 from a shortlist of nine. The 88th Academy Awards will be held Feb. 28 at the Dolby Theatre.