December 12, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:  Leslie Unger — (310) 247-3000
                         lunger@oscars.org

Academy Poster Exhibition Celebrates
50 Years of Foreign Language
Film Award Winners

1972 Foreign Language Film Award winner The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie from France.

Beverly Hills, CA — It was 50 years ago that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences established a category to annually honor films made outside of the United States. To celebrate this anniversary, the Academy will present an exhibition of posters from many of the films that have won its Foreign Language Film award. “From ‘Amarcord’ to ‘Z’: Posters from Fifty Years of Foreign Language Film Award Winners” will open to the public in the Academy’s Grand Lobby Gallery on January 19, 2007. Admission is free.

In 1956, “La Strada,” from Italy, was the first film honored in the Foreign Language Film category, and the most recent winner, “Tsotsi,” from South Africa, was the 50th honoree. Over the course of the past five decades, 21 countries have had their films recognized with Oscar® statuettes. In most cases, the poster displayed will be from the film’s release in its country of origin. All of the works on display will be from the collection of the Academy’s Margaret Herrick Library.

The exhibition also will include posters from some of the films that received Oscar statuettes prior to the establishment of the annual category. These were special awards voted by the Academy’s Board of Governors and not necessarily given every year. In 1947, “Shoe-Shine,” from Italy, was the first film so honored when the Board acknowledged that “the high quality of this motion picture, brought to eloquent life in a country scarred by war, is proof to the world that the creative spirit can triumph over adversity.”

A wide range of styles will be represented in the works displayed, from the haunting photographic imagery of the “Mephisto” poster (1981, Hungary) to the lighthearted, spare design for “Mon Oncle” (1958, France). The exhibition’s namesake posters both use photography; in the case of “Amarcord,” there are several images that preview the fantastical world of the film’s director, Federico Fellini, while “Z” uses a single image to convey the drama that will unfold under Costa-Gavras’s direction. Among the many posters with unique painterly images are those for “Black Orpheus” (1959, France) and “Dersu Uzala” (1975, U.S.S.R.).

Viewing hours for “From ‘Amarcord’ to ‘Z’: Posters from Fifty Years of Foreign Language Film Award Winners” are Tuesdays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and weekends, noon to 6 p.m. The exhibition will run through April 15. The Academy is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For more information, please call (310) 247-3600.

Editors: Please note that downloadable images from this exhibition are available at http://photos.oscars.org/.

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©A.M.P.A.S.®
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
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(310) 247-3000
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