October 19, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:  Teni Melidonian - (310) 247-3090
                             tmelidonian@oscars.org

61 Countries Seeking
Foreign Language Film Oscar®

Beverly Hills, CA — A record 61 countries ranging from developing nations to industrialized powers, including new entrant Kazakhstan, have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 79th Academy Awards®, Academy President Sid Ganis announced today.

The 2006 submissions are:

Algeria, “Days of Glory,” Rachid Bouchareb, director;
Argentina, “Family Law,” Daniel Burman, director;
Australia, “Ten Canoes,” Rolf de Heer, director;
Austria, “You Bet Your Life,” Antonin Svoboda, director;
Bangladesh, “Forever Flows,” Abu Sayeed, director;
Belgium, “Someone Else’s Happiness,” Fien Troch, director;
Bolivia, “American Visa,” Juan Carlos Valdivia, director;
Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Grbavica,” Jasmila Zbanic, director;
Brazil, “Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures,” Marcelo Gomes, director;
Bulgaria, “Monkeys in Winter,” Milena Andonova, director;
Canada, “Water,” Deepa Mehta, director;
Chile, “En la Cama,” Matiaz Bize, director;
China, “Curse of the Golden Flower,” Zhang Yimou, director;
Colombia, “A Ton of Luck,” Rodrigo Triana, director;
Croatia, “Libertas,” Veljko Bulajic, director;
Cuba, “El Benny,” Jorge Luis Sanchez, director;
Czech Republic, “Lunacy,” Jan Svankmajer, director;
Denmark, “After the Wedding,” Susanne Bier, director;
Egypt, “The Yacoubian Building,” Marwan Hamed, director;
France, “Avenue Montaigne,” Daniele Thompson, director;
Germany, “The Lives of Others,” Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, director;
Greece, “Chariton’s Choir,” Grigoris Karantinakis, director;
Hong Kong, “The Banquet,” Feng Xiaogang, director;
Hungary, “White Palms,” Szabolcs Hajdu, director;
Iceland, “Children,” Ragnar Bragason, director;
India, “Rang De Basanti,” Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, director;
Indonesia, “Love for Share,” Nia Dinata, director;
Iran, “Transit Cafe,” Kambozia Partovi, director;
Iraq, “Dreams,” Mohamed Al-Daradji, director;
Israel, “Sweet Mud,” Dror Shaul, director;
Italy, “Golden Door,” Emanuele Crialese, director;
Japan, “Hula Girls,” Sang-il Lee, director;
Kazakhstan, “Nomad,” Sergei Bodrov, Talgat Temenov, Ivan Passer, directors;
Korea, “King and the Clown,” Lee Jun-ik, director;
Kyrgyzstan, “The Wedding Chest,” Nurbek Egen, director;
Lebanon, “Bosta,” Philippe Aractingi, director;
Lithuania, “Before Flying Back to Earth,” Arunas Matelis, director;
Macedonia, “Kontakt,” Sergei Stanojkovski, director;
Mexico, “Pan’s Labyrinth,” Guillermo del Toro, director;
Morocco, “The Moroccan Symphony,” Kamal Kamal, director;
Nepal, “Basain,” Subash Prasad Gajurel, director;
The Netherlands, “Black Book,” Paul Verhoeven, director;
Norway, “Reprise,” Joachim Trier, director;
Peru, “Madeinusa,” Claudia Llosa, director;
Philippines, “The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros,” Auraeus Solito, director;
Poland, “Retrieval,” Slawomir Fabicki, director;
Portugal, “Alice,” Marco Martins, director;
Puerto Rico, “Thieves and Liars,” Ricardo Mendez Matta, director;
Romania, “The Way I Spent the End of the World,” Catalin Mitulescu, director;
Russia, “9th Company,” Fyodor Bondarchuk, director;
Serbia, “Tomorrow Morning,” Oleg Novkovic, director;
Slovenia, “Gravehopping,” Jan Cvitkovic, director;
Spain, “Volver,” Pedro Almodovar, director;
Sweden, “Falkenberg Farewell,” Jesper Ganslandt, director;
Switzerland, “Vitus,” Fredi M. Murer, director;
Taiwan, “Blue Cha Cha,” Cheng Wen-tang, director;
Thailand, “Ahimsa Stop to Run,” Leo Kittikorn, director;
Turkey, “Ice Cream, I Scream,” Yuksel Aksu, director;
Ukraine, “Aurora,” Oxana Bayrak, director;
Venezuela, “Maroa,” Solveig Hoogesteijn, director;
Vietnam, “Story of Pao,” Ngo Quang Hai, director.

In addition to the above, Finland submitted Aki Kaurismaki’s “Lights in the Dusk,” which the director subsequently indicated he wanted to withdraw from the competition. Foreign Language committee chair Mark Johnson has initiated a dialogue with Kaurismaki in an effort to persuade him to reverse that decision.

Nominations for the 79th Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, January 23, 2007, at 5:30 a.m. PST in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2006 will be presented on Sunday, February 25, 2007, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network at 5 p.m. PST, beginning with a half-hour arrival segment.

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