Celebrity Galore

The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States of America with a predominantly non-English dialogue track.

Here are the nominees:

The Baader Meinhof Complex
Germany
Directed by Uli Edel

The roots of the infamous German terrorist group, the Red Army Faction, are traced to the turbulent events of the late 1960s. When a political riot leaves a protester dead and an assassination attempt is made on a left-wing leader, student radicals Andreas Baader and Gudrun Ensslin join forces with journalist Ulrike Meinhof to form a violent faction that turns to bombings, kidnappings, and murder to achieve its goals.

This is the eighth Academy Award nomination for Germany. Previous nominations were:

* THE LIVES OF OTHERS (2006) — Winner, Foreign Language Film
* SOPHIE SCHOLL – THE FINAL DAYS (2005) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* DOWNFALL (2004) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* NOWHERE IN AFRICA (2002) — Winner, Foreign Language Film
* BEYOND SILENCE (1997) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* SCHTONK! (1992) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* THE NASTY GIRL (1990) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film

Prior to reunification in 1990, the Federal Republic of Germany received a total of eight Academy Award nominations, including one win:

* ANGRY HARVEST (1985) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* THE TIN DRUM (1979) — Winner, Foreign Language Film
* THE GLASS CELL (1978) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* THE PEDESTRIAN (1973) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* THE BRIDGE (1959) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* ARMS AND THE MAN (1958) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* THE DEVIL CAME AT NIGHT (1957) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* THE CAPTAIN OF KOPENICK (1956) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film

Prior to reunification in 1990, the German Democratic Republic received one Academy Award nomination:

* JACOB, THE LIAR (1968) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film

The Class
France
Directed by Laurent Cantet

This portrait of a year in the life of a class of Parisian middle school students focuses on the ethnically diverse children who comprise the group and their dedicated teacher, François Marin. Unfolding almost entirely within the classroom itself, the story explores the diversity of personality and background among the students that makes Marin’s work both challenging and rewarding.

This is the thirty fifth Academy Award nomination (including nine wins) for France. Previous nominations were:

* JOYEUX NOËL (2005) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* THE CHORUS (LES CHORISTES) (2004) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* AMÉLIE (2001) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* THE TASTE OF OTHERS (2000) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* EAST-WEST (1999) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* RIDICULE (1996) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* INDOCHINE (1992) — Winner, Foreign Language Film
* CYRANO DE BERGERAC (1990) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* CAMILLE CLAUDEL (1989) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* AU REVOIR LES ENFANTS (GOODBYE, CHILDREN) (1987) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* BETTY BLUE (1986) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* THREE MEN AND A CRADLE (1985) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* ENTRE NOUS (1983) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* COUP DE TORCHON (“CLEAN SLATE”) (1982) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* THE LAST METRO (1980) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* A SIMPLE STORY (1979) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* GET OUT YOUR HANDKERCHIEFS (1978) — Winner, Foreign Language Film
* MADAME ROSA (1977) — Winner, Foreign Language Film
* COUSIN, COUSINE (1976) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* LACOMBE, LUCIEN (1974) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* DAY FOR NIGHT (1973) — Winner, Foreign Language Film
* THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE (1972) — Winner, Foreign Language Film
* HOA-BINH (1970) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* MY NIGHT AT MAUD’S (1969) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* STOLEN KISSES (1968) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* LIVE FOR LIFE (1967) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* A MAN AND A WOMAN (1966) — Winner, Foreign Language Film
* THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (1964) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* SUNDAYS AND CYBELE (1962) — Winner, Foreign Language Film
* LA VÉRITÉ (1960) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* BLACK ORPHEUS (1959) — Winner, Foreign Language Film
* MY UNCLE (1958) — Winner, Foreign Language Film
* GATES OF PARIS (1957) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* GERVAISE (1956) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film

Additionally, France received three Special/Honorary Awards prior to the establishment of Foreign Language Film as a regular category in 1956:

* FORBIDDEN GAMES (1952) — Honorary Foreign Language Film Award
* THE WALLS OF MALAPAGA (1950) — Honorary Foreign Language Film Award [shared with Italy]
* MONSIEUR VINCENT (1948) –Special Foreign Language Film Award

Departures
Japan
Directed by Yojiro Takita

When cellist Daigo Kobayashi finds himself unemployed, he returns with his wife to his hometown and answers an ad he believes has been placed by a travel agency. The available position, however, turns out to be with a company that prepares corpses for cremation–an elaborate ritual for which the stunned Daigo proves to have a surprising aptitude.

This is the twelfth Academy Award nomination for Japan. Previous nominations were:

* THE TWILIGHT SAMURAI (2003) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* MUDDY RIVER (1981) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* KAGEMUSHA (THE SHADOW WARRIOR) (1980) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* SANDAKAN NO. 8 (1975) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* DODES’KA-DEN (1971) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* PORTRAIT OF CHIEKO (1967) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* KWAIDAN (1965) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* WOMAN IN THE DUNES (1964) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* TWIN SISTERS OF KYOTO (1963) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* IMMORTAL LOVE (1961) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* HARP OF BURMA (1956) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film

Additionally, Japan received three Special/Honorary Awards prior to the establishment of Foreign Language Film as a regular category in 1956:

* SAMURAI, THE LEGEND OF MUSASHI (1955) — Honorary Foreign Language Film Award
* GATE OF HELL (1954) — Honorary Foreign Language Film Award
* RASHOMON (1951) — Honorary Foreign Language Film Award

Revanche
Austria
Directed by Götz Spielmann

A crime results in a web of guilt and revenge that knits together the lives of two very different couples. Ex-con Alex plans to help his girlfriend, Tamara, escape from her life in a brothel by robbing a bank in his grandfather’s small town. When the plan goes awry, Alex is drawn into a complex relationship with Robert, a local policeman, and his kindhearted wife, Suzanne.

This is the third Academy Award nomination for Austria. Previous nominations were:

* THE COUNTERFEITERS (2007) — Winner, Foreign Language Film
* “38″ (1986) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film

Waltz With Bashir
Israel
Directed by Ari Folman

Filmmaker Ari Folman’s animated feature explores his own participation as part of the Israeli army in the 1982 Lebanon War. Unable to recall key parts of his actions during the war, Folman interviews other former soldiers and begins to piece together both his own past and the repercussions of a troubling period in modern history.

This is the eighth Academy Award nomination for Israel. Previous nominations were:

* BEAUFORT (2007) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* BEYOND THE WALLS (1984) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* OPERATION THUNDERBOLT (1977) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* THE HOUSE ON CHELOUCHE STREET (1973) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* I LOVE YOU ROSA (1972) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* THE POLICEMAN (1971) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film
* SALLAH (1964) — Nominee, Foreign Language Film