Record number of foreign film Oscar submissions

trofeo-de-oro-sobre-fondo-azul_275-4677The Academy Award Best Foreign Film entries for 2013 have been announced.

This year’s winner was Iran’s A Separation, which I wrote about in January, yet Iran have withdrawn their submission for 2013 in protest over the controversial amateur American film The Innocence of Muslims, which is seen as hugely insulting and has provoked violent demonstrations in the Middle East.

High profile submissions include Chile’s No, starring Gael Garcia Bernal; The Intouchables, which is the second highest grossing French film of all time, Denmark’s A Royal Affair, and Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or award winner Amour, which is in French despite being Austria’s official entry. This film will also be shown at this year’s London Film Festival.

Kenya has submitted it’s very first entry, crime drama Nairobi Half Life.

The five finallists will be announced in January, with the winner being awarded at the ceremony on the 24th February. A record 71 countries have submitted entries, with 54 languages being represented. The languages are certainly diverse, with Greenlandic, Azeri, and Lingala all being featured. The most represented language is Spanish, with no less than 7 films.

If you’re looking to learn Spanish, why not try our lessons in Brighton?