Foreign-Film Oscar Submissions Announced

A record 67 countries, including first-time entrant Jordan, have submitted films for consideration in the foreign language category for the 81st Academy Awards.  As always, the list is full of titles not yet seen by the American public, critics, or even members of the Academy. Only nine of these films will make the shortlist. From there, five films will be nominated.

Last year, Romania's critically acclaimed 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days didn't make it to the second round. This year, new procedures have been put into place to help prevent such glaring omissions. The nominating committee will pick six of the nine finalists; a handpicked executive committee will choose the remaining three.

High profile entries this year include Lauren Cantent's The Class, which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes and opened the New York Film Festival, Israel's animated Waltz With Bashir, Italy's Gomorrah, and from Holland, Dunya & Desie (pictured), a sweet cross-cultural coming-of-age story that recently had its US premiere at the Hamptons International Film Festival.

More: see  the complete list of submitted films  and the list of past Academy Award winners in the foreign language category.