Lemon of the Week: Oscars Late with Foreign Nom Paperwork

The October 1st deadline for all countries wanting into the Academy Award’s foreign-language film category has come and gone, but you wouldn’t know it since no official list of films submitted has been published. You could go tooth and nail on the web and film trades and you’d come up with nada, nothing, zero and zilch – and that goes for the official site. The Lemon of the Week goes to the Oscars for not publishing an official list, which sounds like a trivial complaint, but how difficult can it be for them to collect the titles, include the last minute additions and proudly issue a press release listing all participating nations/first round of nomination hopefuls. Thank to several sites such as IndieWire, we can keep tabs on the most updated list, but I find it a shame that world cinema isn’t receiving the extra bit of promo on the one category that seems to join everyone by the hip. Here is the most updated list via IW.

Albania – Alive, directed by Artan Minarolli
Armenia – Autumn of the Magician, directed by Ruben & Vahe Gevorkyants
Argentina – The Secret in Their Eyes, directed by Juan José Campanella
Australia – Samson and Delilah, directed by Warwick Thornton
Austria – Ein Augenblick Freiheit (For a Moment, Freedom), directed by Arash T. Riahi
Bangladesh – Beyond the Circle, directed by Golam Rabbani Biplob
Belgium – The Misfortunates, directed by Felix Van Groeningen
Bolivia – Southern Zone, directed by Juan Carlos Valdivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina – Night Guards, directed by Namik Kabil
Brazil – Salve Geral, directed by Sergio Rezende
Bulgaria – The World is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner, directed by Stephan Komandarev
Canada – I Killed My Mother, directed by Xavier Dolan
Chile – Dawson, Isla 10, directed by Miguel Littín
China – Forever Enthralled, directed by Chen Kaige
Czech Republic – Protector, directed by Marek Najbrt
Croatia – Donkey, directed by Antonio Nuić
Denmark – Terribly Happy, directed by Henrik Rubin Genz
Estonia – December Heat, directed by Asko Kase
Finland – Postia Pappi Jaakobille (Letters to Father Jacob), directed by Klaus Haro
France – A Prophet, directed by Jacques Audiard
Georgia – The Other Bank, directed by Giorgi Ovashvili
Germany – The White Ribbon, directed by Michael Haneke
Greece – Dogtooth, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
Hong Kong – Prince of Tears, directed by Yonfan
Hungary – Kaméleon (Chameleon), directed by Kristzina Goda
Iceland – Reykjavik-Rotterdam, directed by Oskar Jonasson
India – Harishchandrachi Factory, directed by Paresh Mokashi
Indonesia – Jamila and the President, directed by Ratna Sarumpaet
Iran – About Elly, directed by Asghar Farhadi
Israel – Ajami, directed by Yaron Shani and Scandar Copti
Italy – Baaria, directed by Giuseppe Tornatore
Japan – Dare Mo Mamotte Kurenai (Nobody To Watch Over Me), directed by Ryôichi Kimizuka
Kazakhstan – Kelin, directed by Ermek Tursunov
Luxembourg – Réfractaire, directed by Nicolas Steil
Lithuania – Duburys (Waterhole), directed by Gytis Luksas
Macdeonia – Wingless, directed by Ivo Trajkov
Mexico – Backyard, directed by Carlos Carrera
Mongolia – By the Will of Genghis Khan, directed by Andrei Borissov
Morocco – Casanegra, directed by Nour Eddine Lakhmari
The Netherlands – Wit Licht (Silent Army), directed by Jean van der Velde
Philippines – Ded Na Si Lolo (Grandfather is Dead), directed by Soxie Topacio
Peru – The Milk of Sorrow, directed by Claudia Llosa
Poland – Rewers (The Reverse), directed by Borys Lankosz
Portugal – Um Amor de Perdição (Doomed Love), directed by Mário Barroso
Romania – Police, Adjective, directed by Corneliu Prumboiu
Russia – Ward No. 6, directed by Aleksandr Gornovsky and Karen Shakhnazarov
Serbia – St. George Shoots the Dragon, directed by Srdjan Dragojevic
Slovakia – Broken Promise, directed by Jirí Chlumský
Slovenia – Pokrajina St. 2 (Landscape No 2), directed by Vinko Moderndorfer
South Africa – White Wedding, directed by Jann Turner
South Korea – Mother, directed by Bong Jong-ho
Spain – The Dancer In The Thief, directed by Fernando Trueba
Sri Lanka – Akasa Kusum (Flowers in the Sky), directed by Prasanna Vithanage
Sweden – De Ofrivilliga (Involuntary), directed by Ruben Ostlunds
Switzerland – Home, directed by Ursula Meier
Taiwan – No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti (I Can’t Live Without You), directed by Leon Dai
Thailand – Best In Time, directed by Youngyooth Thongkonthun
Turkey – I Saw the Sun, directed by Mahsun Kirmizigül
Uruguay – Bad Day To Go Fishing, directed by Alvaro Brechner
Venezula – Libertador Morales, El Justiciero, directed by Efterpi Charalambidis
Vietnam – Don’t Burn, directed by Nhat Minh Dang