Oscar Foreign Language Short List Favors Euro Fare

When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) announced the short list of contenders for Best Foreign Language Film, it came as little surprise that the majority -- six out of nine -- were European movies:

Algeria -- "Days of Glory," directed by Rachid Bouchareb
Canada -- "Water," directed by Deepa Mehta
Denmark-- "After the Wedding," directed by Susanne Bier
France -- "Avenue Montaigne," directed by Daniele Thompson
Germany -- "The Lives of Others," directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Mexico -- "Pan’s Labyrinth," directed by Guillermo del Toro
The Netherlands -- "Black Book," directed by Paul Verhoeven
Spain -- "Volver," directed by Pedro Almodovar
Switzerland -- "Vitus," directed by Fredi M. Murer

Of the 61 countries submitting 2006 films for Best Foreign Language Film consideration (a record number), European nations did not represent a majority of entrants, but ultimately gained disproportionate representation on the short list. Over the past 10 years, 70% of Best Foreign Language Film Oscar winners have been European movies.

This year the Academy overlooked a number of excellent international films that could easily compete with "After the Wedding," "Black Book" or "Vitus," some of them directed by far more prestigious filmmakers (Zhang Yimou, Feng Xiaogang) than those shortlisted.

Some of these worthy titles, praised by critics and honored by international film festivals, included:

Australia -- “Ten Canoes,” directed by Rolf de Heer
China -- “Curse of the Golden Flower,” directed by Zhang Yimou
Egypt -- “The Yacoubian Building,” directed by Marwan Hamed
Hong Kong -- “The Banquet,” directed by Feng Xiaogang
India -- “Rang De Basanti,” directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
Indonesia -- “Love for Share,” directed by Nia Dinata
Peru -- “Madeinusa,” directed by Claudia Llosa

Are Academy voters hopelessly Eurocentric? The latest response to that question won't be available until the Oscars are awarded February 25.

A complete list of the 2006 submissions for Best Foreign Language Film consideration:

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.