71 countries vie for 2012 Foreign Language Film Oscar

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – A record 71 countries, including first-time entrant Kenya, have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 85th Academy Awards®.

The 2012 submissions are:

• Afghanistan, “The Patience Stone,” Atiq Rahimi, director;
• Albania, “Pharmakon,” Joni Shanaj, director;
• Algeria, “Zabana!” Said Ould Khelifa, director;
• Argentina, “Clandestine Childhood,” Benjamín Ávila, director;
• Armenia, “If Only Everyone,” Natalia Belyauskene, director;
• Australia, “Lore,” Cate Shortland, director;
• Austria, “Amour,” Michael Haneke, director;
• Azerbaijan, “Buta,” Ilgar Najaf, director;
• Bangladesh, “Pleasure Boy Komola,” Humayun Ahmed, director;
• Belgium, “Our Children,” Joachim Lafosse, director;
• Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Children of Sarajevo,” Aida Begic, director;
• Brazil, “The Clown,” Selton Mello, director;
• Bulgaria, “Sneakers,” Valeri Yordanov and Ivan Vladimirov, directors;

• Cambodia, “Lost Loves,” Chhay Bora, director;
• Canada, “War Witch,” Kim Nguyen, director;
• Chile, “No,” Pablo Larraín, director;
• China, “Caught in the Web,” Chen Kaige, director;
• Colombia, “The Snitch Cartel,” Carlos Moreno, director;
• Croatia, “Vegetarian Cannibal,” Branko Schmidt, director;
• Czech Republic, “In the Shadow,” David Ondrícek, director;
• Denmark, “A Royal Affair,” Nikolaj Arcel, director;
• Dominican Republic, “Jaque Mate,” José María Cabral, director;
• Estonia, “Mushrooming,” Toomas Hussar, director;
• Finland, “Purge,” Antti J. Jokinen, director;
• France, “The Intouchables,” Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, directors;
• Georgia, “Keep Smiling,” Rusudan Chkonia, director;
• Germany, “Barbara,” Christian Petzold, director;
• Greece, “Unfair World,” Filippos Tsitos, director;
• Greenland, “Inuk,” Mike Magidson, director;
• Hong Kong, “Life without Principle,” Johnnie To, director;
• Hungary, “Just the Wind,” Bence Fliegauf, director;
• Iceland, “The Deep,” Baltasar Kormákur, director;
• India, “Barfi!” Anurag Basu, director;
• Indonesia, “The Dancer,” Ifa Isfansyah, director;
• Israel, “Fill the Void,” Rama Burshtein, director;
• Italy, “Caesar Must Die,” Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani, directors;
• Japan, “Our Homeland,” Yang Yonghi, director;
• Kazakhstan, “Myn Bala: Warriors of the Steppe,” Akan Satayev, director;
• Kenya, “Nairobi Half Life,” David ‘Tosh’ Gitonga, director;
• Kyrgyzstan, “The Empty Home,” Nurbek Egen, director;
• Latvia, “Gulf Stream under the Iceberg,” Yevgeny Pashkevich, director;
• Lithuania, “Ramin,” Audrius Stonys, director;
• Macedonia, “The Third Half,” Darko Mitrevski, director;
• Malaysia, “Bunohan,” Dain Iskandar Said, director;
• Mexico, “After Lucia,” Michel Franco, director;
• Morocco, “Death for Sale,” Faouzi Bensaïdi, director;
• Netherlands, “Kauwboy,” Boudewijn Koole, director;
• Norway, “Kon-Tiki,” Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, directors;
• Palestine, “When I Saw You,” Annemarie Jacir, director;
• Peru, “The Bad Intentions,” Rosario García-Montero, director;
• Philippines, “Bwakaw,” Jun Robles Lana, director;
• Poland, “80 Million,” Waldemar Krzystek, director;
• Portugal, “Blood of My Blood,” João Canijo, director;
• Romania, “Beyond the Hills,” Cristian Mungiu, director;
• Russia, “White Tiger,” Karen Shakhnazarov, director;
• Serbia, “When Day Breaks,” Goran Paskaljevic, director;
• Singapore, “Already Famous,” Michelle Chong, director;
• Slovak Republic, “Made in Ash,” Iveta Grófová, director;
• Slovenia, “A Trip,” Nejc Gazvoda, director;
• South Africa, “Little One,” Darrell James Roodt, director;
• South Korea, “Pieta,” Kim Ki-duk, director;
• Spain, “Blancanieves,” Pablo Berger, director;
• Sweden, “The Hypnotist,” Lasse Hallström, director;
• Switzerland, “Sister,” Ursula Meier, director;
• Taiwan, “Touch of the Light,” Chang Jung-Chi, director;
• Thailand, “Headshot,” Pen-ek Ratanaruang, director;
• Turkey, “Where the Fire Burns,” Ismail Gunes, director;
• Ukraine, “The Firecrosser,” Mykhailo Illienko, director;
• Uruguay, “The Delay,” Rodrigo Plá, director;
• Venezuela, “Rock, Paper, Scissors,” Hernán Jabes, director;
• Vietnam, “The Scent of Burning Grass,” Nguyen Huu Muoi, director.

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.