The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nine films eligible for nomination in the Best Foreign Language Film category at 2014's Oscar ceremony. The films are:
"The Broken Circle Breakdown" from Belgium (Felix van Groeningen, director)
"An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker" from Bosnia and Herzegovina (Danis Tanovic, director)
"The Missing Picture" from Cambodia (Rithy Panh, director)
"The Hunt" from Denmark (Thomas Vinterberg, director)
"Two Lives" from Germany (Georg Maas, director)
"The Grandmaster" from Hong Kong (Wong Kar-wai, director)
"The Notebook" from Hungary (Janos Szasz, director)
"The Great Beauty" from Italy (Paolo Sorrentino, director)
"Omar" from Palestine (Hany Abu-Assad, director)
Films not listed on the Oscars' foreign language short list: France's Palme d'Or winning "Blue is the Warmest Color," which was not eligible for nomination, Chile's "Gloria," Iran's "The Past" and Saudi Arabia's "Wadjda," all of which were eligible. "Wadjda," in particular, was a surprise omission. The film, the first Saudi Arabia feature directed by a woman (Haifaa Al Mansour), was favored to win Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars. Needless to say, some awards watchers were upset with that snub:
Nominees for the 86th annual Academy Awards will be announced on Jan. 16, 2014.
"The Broken Circle Breakdown" from Belgium (Felix van Groeningen, director)
"An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker" from Bosnia and Herzegovina (Danis Tanovic, director)
"The Missing Picture" from Cambodia (Rithy Panh, director)
"The Hunt" from Denmark (Thomas Vinterberg, director)
"Two Lives" from Germany (Georg Maas, director)
"The Grandmaster" from Hong Kong (Wong Kar-wai, director)
"The Notebook" from Hungary (Janos Szasz, director)
"The Great Beauty" from Italy (Paolo Sorrentino, director)
"Omar" from Palestine (Hany Abu-Assad, director)
Films not listed on the Oscars' foreign language short list: France's Palme d'Or winning "Blue is the Warmest Color," which was not eligible for nomination, Chile's "Gloria," Iran's "The Past" and Saudi Arabia's "Wadjda," all of which were eligible. "Wadjda," in particular, was a surprise omission. The film, the first Saudi Arabia feature directed by a woman (Haifaa Al Mansour), was favored to win Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars. Needless to say, some awards watchers were upset with that snub:
The Academy should be fucking ashamed for not including Wadjda on the short list for the foreign language oscar.
— Melissa Silverstein (@melsil) December 20, 2013Nominees for the 86th annual Academy Awards will be announced on Jan. 16, 2014.