91st Academy Awards Best Foreign Language Film shortlist announced

A record 87 countries submitted films for the Oscars

by Anne-Katrin Titze

ROMA director/cinematographer Alfonso Cuarón, winner of Best Director for Gravity, starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney
ROMA director/cinematographer Alfonso Cuarón, winner of Best Director for Gravity, starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

The 91st Academy Awards Oscar Best Foreign Language Film shortlist has been revealed.

Never Look Away (Werk Ohne Autor) director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Never Look Away (Werk Ohne Autor) director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

From Lebanon, Capernaum, Nadine Labaki, director; Colombia, Birds Of Passage, Cristina Gallego, Ciro Guerra, directors; Denmark, The Guilty, Gustav Möller, director; Germany, Never Look Away, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, director; Japan, Shoplifters, Hirokazu Kore-eda, director; Kazakhstan, Ayka, Sergey Dvortsevoy, director; Poland, Cold War, Pawel Pawlikowski, director; South Korea, Burning, Lee Chang-dong, director; Mexico, Roma, Alfonso Cuarón, director (winner of Best Director for Gravity, which starred Sandra Bullock and George Clooney) are the nine films selected, six by Los Angeles-based Academy members and three additional films by the Academy's Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee.

87 countries submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 91st Academy Awards. Malawi and Niger are first-time entrants.

The five films to receive nominations will be announced on Tuesday, January 22, 2019.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences celebration takes place on February 24, 2019.

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