This is a list of submissions to the 89th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has been inviting film industries from around the world to submit their best film for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film every year since the award was created in 1956. The award is presented annually by the Academy to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue.
The Foreign Language Film Award Committee oversees the process and reviews all the submitted films. Nine shortlisted contenders are revealed a week before the announcement of the Oscar nominations.
Nepal’s film industry has selected Kalo Pothi, a tale from the Maoist insurgency era, for the Oscars.
Mexico, “Desierto” by Jonás Cuarón
A group of people trying to cross the border from Mexico into the United States encounter a man who has taken border patrol duties into his own racist hands. (IMDB)
Chile, “Neruda” by Pablo Larraín
An inspector hunts down Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda, who becomes a fugitive in his home country in the late 1940s for joining the Communist Party. (IMDB)
Venezuela, “From Afar” by Lorenzo Vigas
Armando, a 50 year man, seeks young men in Caracas and pays them just for company. One day he meets Elder, a 17 years boy that is the leader of a criminal gang, and that meeting changes their lives forever. (IMDB)
Portugal, “Letters from War” by Ivo M. Ferreira
Based on António Lobo Antunes’s novel, a collection of letters written by a young soldier, doctor and a aspirant writer, to his wife while he was serving in Angola between 1971 and 1973, during the Portuguese Colonial War, a war between Portugal with its former overseas provinces. (IMDB)
Croatia, “On the Other Side” by Zrinko Ogresta
Twenty years ago, Vesna moved her family to Zagreb, away from the events that almost destroyed their lives. However, an unexpected call will bring back the memory of a secret that she has been trying to hide all these years. (IMDB)
Germany, “Tony Erdmann” by Maren Ade
A father tries to reconnect with his adult daughter. (IMDB)
Spain, “Julieta” by Pedro Almodóvar
After a casual encounter, a brokenhearted woman decides to confront her life and the most important events about her stranded daughter. (IMDB)
Finland, “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki” by Juho Kuosmanen
The true story of Olli Mäki, the famous Finnish boxer who had a shot at the 1962 World Featherweight title. (IMDB)
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Afghanistan, “Parting” by Navid Mahmoudi
Albania, “Chromium” by Bujar Alimani
Algeria, “The Well” by Lofti Bouchouchi
Armenia, “The Earthquake” by Sarik Andreasyan
Australia, “Tanna” by Martin Butler & Bentley Dean
Austria, “Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe” by Maria Schrader
Belgium, “The Ardennes” by Robin Pront
Bosnia And Herzegovina, “Death in Sarajevo” by Danis Tanovic
Brazil, “Little Secret” by Daniel Schumann
Bulgaria, “Losers”by Ivarlo Hristov
Colombia, “Alias Maria” by José Luis Rugeles Gracia
Cuba, “The Companion” by Pavel Giroud
Czech Republic, “Lost in Munich” by Petr Zelenka
Denmark, “Land of Mine” by Martin Zandvliet
Dominican Republic, “Flor de Azúcar” by Fernando Baez Mella
Egypt, “Clash” by Mohamed Diab
Estonia, “Mother” by Kadri Kõusaare
Georgia, “House of Others” by Rusudan Glurdjidze
Greece, “Chevalier” by Athina Rachel Tsangari
Hungary, “Kills on Wheels” by Attila Till
Iran, “The Salesman” by Asghar Farhadi
Iraq, “El Clasico” by Halkawt Mustafa
Japan, “Haha to Kuraseba” by Yoji Yamada
Kosovo, “Home Sweet Home” by Faton Bajraktari
Kyrgyzstan, “A Father’s Will” by Bakyt Mukul & Dastan Japar Uulu
Lebanon, “Very Big Shot” by Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya
Lithuania, “Seneca’s Day” by Kristijonas Vildziunas
Luxembourg, “Voices from Chernobyl” by Pol Cruchten
Morocco, “A Mile in My Shoes” by Said Khallaf
Netherlands, “Tonio” by Paula van der Oest
New Zealand, “A Flickering Truth” by Pietra Brettkelly
Norway, “The King’s Choice” by Eric Poppe
Pakistan, “Mah e Mir” by Anjum Shahzad
Panama, “Salsipuedes” by Ricardo Aguilar Navarro & Manuel Rodríguez
Peru, “Videophilia (and Other Viral Syndromes)” by Juan Daniel Fernández
Philippines, “Ma’Rosa” by Brillante Mendoza
Romania, “Sieranevada” by Cristi Puiu
Russia, “Paradise” by Andrei Konchalovsky
Saudi Arabia, “Barakah Meets Barakah” by Mahmoud Sabbagh
Serbia, “Train Driver’s Diary” by Milos Radovica
Singapore, “Apprentice” by Junfeng Boo
Slovenia, “Houston, We Have A Problem!” by Ziga Virc
South Korea, “The Age of Shadows” by Jee-woon Kim
Sweden, “A Man Called Ove” by Hannes Holm
Switzerland, “My Life as a Courgette” by Claude Barras
Thailand, “Karma” by Kanittha Kwanyu
Tunisia, “As I Open My Eyes“ by Leyla Bouzid
Ukraine, “Ukrainian Sheriffs” by Roman Bondarchuk
United Kingdom, “Under the Shadow” by Babak Anvari
Uruguay, “Migas de Pan” by Manane Rodriguez
Vietnam, “Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass” by Victor Vu
(Compiled. The list is correct as of September 22, 2016.)
