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OSCARS 2018

European (co-)productions rule in the Oscars’ Foreign Language Film shortlist

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- Films from Germany, Hungary, Russia and Sweden are among the European submissions to be selected, with all other shortlisted films also co-produced by Europe

European (co-)productions rule in the Oscars’ Foreign Language Film shortlist
The Square by Ruben Östlund

After a record 92 submissions from across the globe for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 90th edition of The Oscars, the Academy has unveiled the shortlist of the nine films selected to vie for the award.

This year, the European countries present are: Germany, with Fatih Akin’s French-German co-production In the Fade [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fatih Akin
film profile
]
, Hungary, with Ildiko Enyedi’s Golden Bear winner On Body and Soul [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ildiko Enyedi
interview: Ildiko Enyedi
interview: Réka Tenki
film profile
]
, Russia, with Andrei Zvyagintsev’s Russian-French-German-Belgian co-production Loveless [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andrey Zvyagintsev
film profile
]
, and Sweden, with Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or winner, Swedish-German-French-Danish-US co-production The Square [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ruben Östlund
film profile
]
.

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However, Europe is also represented in the other six submissions, coming from South America, the Middle East and Africa. Chile’s A Fantastic Woman [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, directed by Sebastián Lelio, was co-produced by Germany and Spain, Israel’s Foxtrot [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Samuel Maoz
film profile
]
, directed by Samuel Maoz, was co-produced by Germany and France, Lebanon’s The Insult [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ziad Doueiri
film profile
]
, directed by Ziad Doueiri, was co-produced by France and Belgium, Senegal’s Félicité [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alain Gomis
film profile
]
, directed by Alain Gomis, was co-produced by France, Belgium and Germany, and South Africa’s The Wound [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, directed by John Trengove, was co-produced by Germany, Netherlands and France.

Some of the titles expected to be nominated have missed out, as is the case for France’s submission, Robin Campillo’s BPM (Beats Per Minute) [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Arnaud Valois
interview: Robin Campillo
film profile
]
, and 2013 Oscar winner Michael Haneke, whose latest film, Happy End [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Michael Haneke
film profile
]
was Austria’s submission. Jonas Carpignano’s A Ciambra [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jonas Carpignano
film profile
]
(Italy), backed by Martin Scorsese, was also widely tipped to be selected.

It is worth noting that this year’s selection consists entirely of festival darlings. All the nominated films were premiered at major gatherings, including Berlin, Cannes, Venice and Sundance, and aside from South Africa’s The Wound, all of them won major awards at those festivals. The correlation between the festivals' more cinephile likes and the Academy members’ selection could be due to the changes applied to the voting system, which resulted in the widening and diversification of the foreign-language committee.

The final nominations will be unveiled on 23 January.

The shortlist: 

Chile: A Fantastic Woman [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, Sebastián Lelio (Chile/Germany/US/Spain)
Germany: In the Fade [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fatih Akin
film profile
]
, Fatih Akin (Germany/France)
Hungary: On Body and Soul [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ildiko Enyedi
interview: Ildiko Enyedi
interview: Réka Tenki
film profile
]
, Ildikó Enyedi (Hungary)
Israel: Foxtrot [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Samuel Maoz
film profile
]
, Samuel Maoz (Israel/Germany/France)
Lebanon: The Insult [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ziad Doueiri
film profile
]
, Ziad Doueiri (Lebanon/France/Belgium/US)
Russia: Loveless [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andrey Zvyagintsev
film profile
]
, Andrey Zvyagintsev (Russia/France/Germany/Belgium)
Senegal: Félicité [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alain Gomis
film profile
]
, Alain Gomis (France/Belgium/Senegal/Germany/Lebanon)
South Africa: The Wound [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, John Trengove (South Africa/Germany/Netherlands/France)
Sweden: The Square [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ruben Östlund
film profile
]
, Ruben Östlund (Sweden/Germany/France/Denmark/US)

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