The films, listed in alphabetical order by country, are:
- Austria, “Amour,” Michael Haneke, director
- Canada, “War Witch,” Kim Nguyen, director
- Chile, “No,” Pablo Larraín, director
- Denmark, “A Royal Affair,” Nikolaj Arcel, director
- France, “The Intouchables,” Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, directors
- Iceland, “The Deep,” Baltasar Kormákur, director
- Norway, “Kon-Tiki,” Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, directors
- Romania, “Beyond the Hills,” Cristian Mungiu, director
- Switzerland, “Sister,” Ursula Meier, director
Foreign Language Film nominations for 2012 are again being determined in two phases.
The Phase I committee, consisting of several hundred Los Angeles-based members, screened the 71 eligible films between mid-October and December 17. The group’s top six choices, augmented by three additional selections voted by the Academy’s Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee, constitute the shortlist.
The shortlist will be winnowed down to the five nominees by specially invited committees in New York and Los Angeles. They will spend Friday, January 4, through Sunday, January 6, viewing three films each day and then casting their ballots.
The 85th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 10, 2013, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2012 will be presented on Sunday, February 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theatre™ at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.
A great year for foreign film.
The Hunt is excellent, best of luck to it next year (also, Mikkelson is quietly racking up one of the finest filmographies going around). The Hunt recently just won the Canberra International Film Festival as well, over some decent competition.
Was Rust & Bone eligible? Shame it got overlooked by The Intouchables. Still, a great year for french-language films. Kiarostami’s new film ‘Like Someone in Love’ was also one of my favourites of the year, but not outstanding enough I guess to get a nomination.
Would also like to see Beyond the Hills get a nom.
Regarding recent years, The Lives of Others was the outstanding film of it’s year, and happy it won over Pans Labyrinth. If there were more than 5 BP noms back then, they might have slipped in (it was a strong year all-around from memory).
I liked A Separation, but to me it was merely the best Iranian film from the last couple years, but not one of the most outstanding films to come out of Iran. I still really liked it though, and managed to see it before it won the Sydney Film festival award in mid-2011, so early in the race.
This category can often be unpredictable, but a well-reviewed film such as Amour will only be toppled by a more beloved film that cracked the mainstream (The Intouchables), or another film with an even greater critical reception. It doesnt hurt that Amour will be very relatable to oscar voters.
same…same…same ……..as always
boring..boring…boring….as always
So the committee saved No, Beyond the Hills, and Amour (Anne and Kris have both been saying the branch isn’t taken with it, which is why it NEEDS to be pushed in other categories)?
Anyone thinking that Amour has this in the bag really needs to take a step back and realize what kind of movies win this award. The Intouchables is an international phenomenon and what’s considered a “feel good” movie on top of it.
When did we get up to 225 countries? Even adding Palestine to the U.N. doesn’t cross 200.
Barbara should have been nominated. I don’t think Beyond the Hills will make the cut. I think Amour is overrated but I’d love both lead actors to be nominated.
Where’s Kim Ki Duke’s Pieta??????
I really can’ t believe it’s out!!!
“Was Once Upon a Time in Anatolia not eligible? As slow as that film is, it is breathtaking in scope and grandeur. A beautiful film that deserves so much more acclaim than it’s getting.”
@Film Minion –
It was Turkey’s official entry in 2011, though it didn’t make the nine films shortlist.
I’ve seen six of the films in contention (Amour; Beyond the Hills; L’Intouchables; Kon-Tiki; No; and A Royal Affair), and I must say that it’s indeed a strong lineup (the strongest in years since the nine films shortlist was inaugurated on 2006).
Amour and L’Intouchables have its ardent supporters in the Academy. (Haneke is also an Academy member, fyi.) Kon-Tiki has the Weinstein Brothers and a a classic Oscar cred as backup (the plot was previously told in the Oscar winning documentary “Kon-Tiki”) while A Royal Affair, No, and War Witch have thematically resonant plots that Academy members can easily relate to (which is the reason why Romania had its first shortlist nomination ever for the feminist drama Beyond the Hills).
Here is my fearless forecast of this year’s Best Foreign Language Film nominees:
Austria, “Amour,” Michael Haneke, director
Canada, “War Witch,” Kim Nguyen, director
France, “The Intouchables,” Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, directors
Norway, “Kon-Tiki,” Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, directors
Romania, “Beyond the Hills,” Cristian Mungiu, director
This is Amour’s climactic moment; I can see most “elderly” Academy members crying or “internalizing” while watching Michael Haneke’s emotionally driven drama. I don’t think that “L’Intouchables” will win, period. (I’m happy to see Romania being nominated for the first time, while I have to be contented with War Witch’s unsurprising but well-deserved nomination.)
And if ever there’s a strong competitor for Amour, it will be the searing adventure drama (and Weinstein Company release) “Kon-Tiki”.
Was Once Upon a Time in Anatolia not eligible? As slow as that film is, it is breathtaking in scope and grandeur. A beautiful film that deserves so much more acclaim than it’s getting.
Intouchables is extremely well-executed and it’s as Academy friendly as any film can get and it will handily beat Amour in this category.
I saw Kon-Tiki, the 1950 Oscar-winning documentary, and thought it was thrilling, very informative, honest, visceral and utterly fascinating. So I guess a dramatic feature about this fantastic voyage is bound to be just as good.
My predictions:
Intouchables (winner by a long long mile)
Amour
Kon-Tiki
A Royal Affair
War Witch
This is a two horse race, similar to Best Pic from two years ago. Amour is ‘The Social Network’ and Intouchables is ‘The Kings Speech’. The same jockey is even riding Intouchables!
I can never seem to get excited about this category because of the one country/one film rule.
We all know Denmark could easily have two films on the shortlist, not just one. Is The Intouchables really a better film than Holy Motors simply because France (and TWC) selected it? Portugal, limited to one film, did not even submit Tabu, but selected Blood of My Blood, instead. Would they be in the running had they gone in another direction – Tabu is killing it on the critic’s lists.
Shouldn’t each have been allowed to submit more than one film for consideration? The Academy can always limit the number of nominees to one film per country, if that’s how it prefers to run it, but open up the preliminaries, please.
They have to loosen-up a bit on the qualifications for this category.
Julian, I wouldn’t say DEFINITELY. What if Denmark has something equally great come September? The committee might go with the newer film. Or do you now already that DK’s 2013 slate has nothing great to offer?
Remember how the Swedes didn’t bother with a year old title (a late October release) Let the Right One In, even when it had won so many prizes by then? They chose Simple Simon and we all know how well that decision went. Sweden could’ve won in the end.
If there is ONE sure bet this year, it is that Amour will win this award. We are talking about the Golden Palm winner. It has been talked about since May. Enough voters will see it.
The Hunt will most definitely be contending for Denmark next year. The Danish selection committee know that they have a strong contender (as per usual) and they would be foolish not to go with it.
Harvey Weinstein is going to ride The Intouchables train straight to victory….the academy requires voters of foreign category to have seen all the nominees, by default that skews older and the film is like catnip
“I know it obviously it is easier for an European film than for an Iranian film to score a BP nomination”
I can’t agree completely on that one since i have this impression that all the hype and glorifying reviews about A Separation and it’s subsequent recognition in the awards session (manly run by the western world) were politically motivated (although A Separation was fantastic achievement by any means), as it was the awkward choice of “No Man’s Land” which came just in time to acknowledge the casualties of the Bosnian civil war.
Jagten couldn’t be submitted since it hasn’t even opened in native Denmark yet, weirdly enough. Expect to see it possibly contending next year.
Someone pointed out that 4 out of these 9 are French spoken. That must be a record.
Luke, you are totally right. Not only Lives of Others but Pan’s Labyrinth are much better than The Departed. That year the Academy snubbed Volver. Had it been nominated, it could be top 5 lineup in the history of the category. And A Separation is one of the reasons why I don’t predict a BP nom for Amour. The first one was easily a better film than virtually all the BP contenders in a mediocre year and its buzz was high throughout the awards season. I know it obviously it is easier for an European film than for an Iranian film to score a BP nomination but… Although I also think Amour is fantastic, it’s a fact that A Separation’s reviews are a little bit better and that the film had fewer haters than Amour has.
How can The Intouchables actually win??? In fact i’m actually quite certain that it won’t even make the final shortlist. But if somehow manages to win BFP in that case, let’s make this BP shortlist:
1. The Avengers (and lets nominate Scarlet Johansson for best supporting role)
2. Skyfall
3. The Dark Rises
4. Brave
5. The Hunger Games
6. Man in Black 3
In this selection, winning equivalent to The Intouchables would be Man in Black 3. I was able to forgive the Academy for snubbing The Pan’s Labyrinth, mainly because The Lives of Others (although not being very close to the reality and historical context it was trying to reproduce) was equally good film. Snubbing Amour over a so called “feel-good” box-office lemonade in a form of shallow buddy comedy, will be teasing the MTV movie awards.
The Lives of Others was a flawless film. It should have won Best Picture, not just Best Foreign Picture. The Departed was no where near its quality. In my humble opinion, of course. =)
The Lives Of Others want exactly feel-good, either.
Also, while Kon-Tiki isn’t a very deep film, I found it surprisingly enjoyable, something that could stand up against any big budget Hollywood adventure film.
Pretty close to perfect for what it was, IMO.
And also feel-good.
These voters know that they may have screwed up with The White Ribbon.
No they don’t. I remember being in a minority a few months ago suggesting that The Intouchables could easily win this, when virtually no-one thought Amour could lose.
I still think The Intouchables will win.
@ The Great Dane who wrote that the best-reviewed film never wins. I beg to differ : A Separation, as recently as last year.
No alarms, no surprises
Keil S: it was last year, but Norway chose Happy Happy over Oslo. In hindsight, weird choice.
Jagten is next year.
One thing in Amour’s favour. These voters know that they may have screwed up with The White Ribbon. Winning in this category sometimes comes with “the next film”.
The Intouchables winning best foreign picture? No way and no chance, i mean unless the APMAS voters are a bunch of idiots to get carried away by that Hollywood-style burlesque with no real meaning whatsoever. Comparing A Better World or The Departures with that sharade of a film is beyond silly. I mean, on some of the posts some of the talks are about the possibilities of Amour getting nods in other categories like best actress for Riva or original screenplay for Haneke or maybe even a nod in the best picture shortlist. It sure is not a subject whether Amour will win best foreign picture!
Was Oslo, August 31st considered part of last year’s batch?
I would have liked to see Jagten (The Hunt) instead of ‘A Royal Affair’ for Denmark. Jagten was great!
How do you know they are all 60+ years old? As far as I know, the voters are very few here, because you have to prove that you’ve seen all of them. I get what you mean about voting for the easier films, but they have also chosen tougher films, like No Man’s Land winning over a feel-good film Amélie.
To me, The Intouchables winning is more to do with box office. Isn’t it the biggest money maker out of non-English language/non-American films EVER?
Plus, The Intouchables is TWC. That works greatly to its favor.
Amour lovers should get there complaining out of the way now! Cause The Intouchables has this in the bag. Most of the voters in this category are 60+ years old, and they ALWAYS chose the most feel-good accessible film of the bunch. The best-reviewed film never wins here. It’s always the ‘King’s Speech’ touchy-feely film that wins. A Better World, Departures and The Secret in Their Eyes says it all. 🙂
As a chilean so happy to see No as the final nine.
Euro-centric much??? Boooooooo!!
Was rooting to LORE and AFTER LUCIA. Did Portugal not submit TABU?!?!
At least I’m glad NO made the cute, hope it gets the nomination. If anything AMOUR for the win!!
No Lore or Barbara sound like the biggest omissions this time.
Good luck for all the Nordics!!! Three out of five countries got into this shortlist, and when has that happened? A while ago I thought Sweden could sneak in, because The Hypnotist was directed by Academy favourite Lasse Hallström, but then I saw the film… and yeah. It’s not here, and rightly so. Finland never had a chance with Purge.
I was really expecting to see Lore here. A chance to nominate an Australian film? About the Holocaust? Sounded like their bag.
YES for War Witch and Beyond the Hills. Based on the awards hype, I was almost sure they are gonna get snubbed in favor of feel good fluff like Intouchables.
Kris Tapley mentioned Amour might have been saved the committee. Intouchables could win this. Not that it should.
The Deep could be a surprising nominee. It is based on a true story, it is directed by a director that is getting a foothold in Hollywood and it has one of the best performance of 2012, by Ólafur Darri Ólafsson. I am convinced that if it was from a larger country, let’s say USA, UK or France then Ólafur Darri would be a serious candidate for best actor because he carries the film, we spend a very long time with him in the water and we really feel what his character is going through. His role is not dissimilar to the role that James Franco had in 127 Hours, given that both films are true stories about men who survived accidents that they really should not have.
Yay kon tiki and the Intouchables, woohoo!!!!!!
My predictions (for what it’s worth) :
• Austria, “Amour,” Michael Haneke, director
• Canada, “War Witch,” Kim Nguyen, director
• Chile, “No,” Pablo Larraín, director
• Denmark, “A Royal Affair,” Nikolaj Arcel, director
• Switzerland, “Sister,” Ursula Meier, director
I personnally thought that Intouchables (France) was overhyped. I think Norway could be a dark horse. I am putting No based on the reactions here 🙂 but please allow me to say : Go Canada GO ! But we all know of course that Amour will win.
Chile, Congratulations!. No (Pablo Larrain) is a great movie.
coming from Academy this shortlist is as good as it gets!
No Barbara, that sucks.
No Barbara or Lore
We could have a very Scandinavian line-up, and could easily have a very European line-up.
NO is brilliant and could be a winner in a year with no AMOUR. WAR WITCH will be a surprise nominee, mark my words. Mark them, damn you!
BEYOND THE HILLS!! YES! happy to see it, but very sad about Barbara. very strong pick this year, without surprises
No Barbara 🙁
Good Choices. And all among the favorites.
The decisions of the last years, had to fear that Amour was left out.
Now I bet on:
Amour
Intouchables (The Weinsteins!)
No
War Witch
and…?
No guess! Normally one “prominent” candidate is out, maybe Royal Affair, maybe Kon Tiki or even Intouchables.
Outsiders Switzerland and Iceland.
No Fill the Void, Blancanieves, or After Lucia, too bad 🙁
Hooray for Amour and Sister!
I would say hooray for War Witch, No and Beyond the Hills, but I haven’t seen them, so I don’t know if I even want them to be nominated.
No Brazil… No surprise.
Where is Bárbara?