The race for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film set a new record on Tuesday, with 85 countries appearing on the list announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The previous record was 83 entries, set in 2014.
High-profile entries in this year’s race include Canada’s “It’s Only the End of the World,” directed by Xavier Dolan; Chile’s “Neruda,” by Pablo Larrain; Egypt’s “Clash,” by Mohamed Diab; France’s “Elle,” by Paul Verhoeven; Germany’s “Toni Erdmann,” by Maren Ade; Iran’s “The Salesman,” by Asghar Farhadi; Israel’s “Sand Storm,” by Elite Zexer; Italy’s “Fire at Sea,” by Gianfranco Rosi; Mexico’s “Desierto,” by Jonas Cuaron; Palestine’s “The Idol,” by Hany Abu-Assad; the Philippines’ “Ma’ Rosa,” by Brilliante Mendoza; Poland’s “Afterimage,” by the late Andrei Wajda; Romania’s “Sieranevada,” by Cristi Puiu; South Korea’s “The Age of Shadows,” by Kim Jee-woon; Spain’s “Julieta,” by Pedro Almodovar; and Sweden’s “A Man Called Ove,” by Hannes Holm.
Three films that were announced as entries by their home countries, Afghanistan’s “Parting,” Armenia’s “Earthquake” and Tunisia’s “As I Open My Eyes,” do not appear on the Academy list and were apparently disqualified, most likely for not having enough creative content from the submitting country.
All the entries will be screened for volunteers from all branches of the Academy over the next two months, with evening and weekend screenings taking place in two separate AMPAS theaters: the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in the Academy’s Beverly Hills headquarters, where previous first-round Oscar foreign-language screenings have taken place, and the smaller Linwood Dunn Theater in the Academy’s Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study in Hollywood.
Moving some screenings to the Linwood Dunn allows the Academy to open up the much larger Goldwyn to other screenings in October, November and December. In addition to membership screenings, the Academy rents out the 1,010-seat Goldwyn for premieres and other screenings.
Here is the list of Oscar foreign language films and directors. TheWrap has a complete list with descriptions of each film and links to trailers here.
Albania, “Chromium,” Bujar Alimani, director;
Algeria, “The Well,” Lotfi Bouchouchi, director;
Argentina, “The Distinguished Citizen,” Mariano Cohn, Gastón Duprat, directors;
Australia, “Tanna,” Bentley Dean, Martin Butler, directors;
Austria, “Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe,” Maria Schrader, director;
Bangladesh, “The Unnamed,” Tauquir Ahmed, director;
Belgium, “The Ardennes,” Robin Pront, director;
Bolivia, “Sealed Cargo,” Julia Vargas Weise, director;
Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Death in Sarajevo,” Danis Tanovic, director;
Brazil, “Little Secret,” David Schurmann, director;
Bulgaria, “Losers,” Ivaylo Hristov, director;
Cambodia, “Before the Fall,” Ian White, director;
Canada, “It’s Only the End of the World,” Xavier Dolan, director;
Chile, “Neruda,” Pablo Larraín, director;
China, “Xuan Zang,” Huo Jianqi, director;
Colombia, “Alias Maria,” José Luis Rugeles, director;
Costa Rica, “About Us,” Hernán Jiménez, director;
Croatia, “On the Other Side,” Zrinko Ogresta, director;
Cuba, “The Companion,” Pavel Giroud, director;
Czech Republic, “Lost in Munich,” Petr Zelenka, director;
Denmark, “Land of Mine,” Martin Zandvliet, director;
Dominican Republic, “Sugar Fields,” Fernando Báez, director;
Ecuador, “Such Is Life in the Tropics,” Sebastián Cordero, director;
Egypt, “Clash,” Mohamed Diab, director;
Estonia, “Mother,” Kadri Kõusaar, director;
Finland, “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki,” Juho Kuosmanen, director;
France, “Elle,” Paul Verhoeven, director;
Georgia, “House of Others,” Rusudan Glurjidze, director;
Germany, “Toni Erdmann,” Maren Ade, director;
Greece, “Chevalier,” Athina Rachel Tsangari, director;
Hong Kong, “Port of Call,” Philip Yung, director;
Hungary, “Kills on Wheels,” Attila Till, director;
Iceland, “Sparrows,” Rúnar Rúnarsson, director;
India, “Interrogation,” Vetri Maaran, director;
Indonesia, “Letters from Prague,” Angga Dwimas Sasongko, director;
Iran, “The Salesman,” Asghar Farhadi, director;
Iraq, “El Clásico,” Halkawt Mustafa, director;
Israel, “Sand Storm,” Elite Zexer, director;
Italy, “Fire at Sea,” Gianfranco Rosi, director;
Japan, “Nagasaki: Memories of My Son,” Yoji Yamada, director;
Jordan, “3000 Nights,” Mai Masri, director;
Kazakhstan, “Amanat,” Satybaldy Narymbetov, director;
Kosovo, “Home Sweet Home,” Faton Bajraktari, director;
Kyrgyzstan, “A Father’s Will,” Bakyt Mukul, Dastan Zhapar Uulu, directors;
Latvia, “Dawn,” Laila Pakalnina, director;
Lebanon, “Very Big Shot,” Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya, director;
Lithuania, “Seneca’s Day,” Kristijonas Vildziunas, director;
Luxembourg, “Voices from Chernobyl,” Pol Cruchten, director;
Macedonia, “The Liberation of Skopje,” Rade Šerbedžija, Danilo Šerbedžija, directors;
Malaysia, “Beautiful Pain,” Tunku Mona Riza, director;
Mexico, “Desierto,” Jonás Cuarón, director;
Montenegro, “The Black Pin,” Ivan Marinović, director;
Morocco, “A Mile in My Shoes,” Said Khallaf, director;
Nepal, “The Black Hen,” Min Bahadur Bham, director;
Netherlands, “Tonio,” Paula van der Oest, director;
New Zealand, “A Flickering Truth,” Pietra Brettkelly, director;
Norway, “The King’s Choice,” Erik Poppe, director;
Pakistan, “Mah-e-Mir,” Anjum Shahzad, director;
Palestine, “The Idol,” Hany Abu-Assad, director;
Panama, “Salsipuedes,” Ricardo Aguilar Navarro, Manolito Rodríguez, directors;
Peru, “Videophilia (and Other Viral Syndromes),” Juan Daniel F. Molero, director;
Philippines, “Ma’ Rosa,” Brillante Ma Mendoza, director;
Poland, “Afterimage,” Andrzej Wajda, director;
Portugal, “Letters from War,” Ivo M. Ferreira, director;
Romania, “Sieranevada,” Cristi Puiu, director;
Russia, “Paradise,” Andrei Konchalovsky, director;
Saudi Arabia, “Barakah Meets Barakah,” Mahmoud Sabbagh, director;
Serbia, “Train Driver’s Diary,” Milos Radovic, director;
Singapore, “Apprentice,” Boo Junfeng, director;
Slovakia, “Eva Nová,” Marko Skop, director;
Slovenia, “Houston, We Have a Problem!” Žiga Virc, director;
South Africa, “Call Me Thief,” Daryne Joshua, director;
South Korea, “The Age of Shadows,” Kim Jee-woon, director;
Spain, “Julieta,” Pedro Almodóvar, director;
Sweden, “A Man Called Ove,” Hannes Holm, director;
Switzerland, “My Life as a Zucchini,” Claude Barras, director;
Taiwan, “Hang in There, Kids!” Laha Mebow, director;
Thailand, “Karma,” Kanittha Kwunyoo, director;
Turkey, “Cold of Kalandar,” Mustafa Kara, director;
Ukraine, “Ukrainian Sheriffs,” Roman Bondarchuk, director;
United Kingdom, “Under the Shadow,” Babak Anvari, director;
Uruguay, “Breadcrumbs,” Manane Rodríguez, director;
Venezuela, “From Afar,” Lorenzo Vigas, director;
Vietnam, “Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass,” Victor Vu, director;
Yemen, “I Am Nojoom, Age 10 and Divorced,” Khadija Al-Salami, director.