11/09/2014 - El niño, Long Distance and Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed are the three finalists announced by the Spanish Film Academy to represent Spain in the Best Foreign-Language Film category

The Spanish Film Academy has announced the three finalists hoping to become the Spanish representative in the Best Foreign-Language Film category at the Oscars. The Academy members opted for a sophisticated genre production with an admirable ability to unite the preferences of both the public and the critics (El niño [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Daniel Monzón
film profile]), an independent feature debut devised with one foot in Spain and the other in the USA (Long Distance [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Carlos Marques-Marcet
film profile]), and the big winner at the latest Goya Awards (the bittersweet comedy Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]). 

For two weeks, these three films, directed by Daniel Monzón, Carlos Marqués-Marcet and David Trueba, respectively, will compete in order to win the honour and the privilege of entering the race for the coveted statuette. The Academy will announce which movie will be representing the Spanish film industry on 25 September.

While the distribution of El niño is now in full swing (it is currently enjoying great success after spending ten days on the movie listings, having taken €7.5 million), both Long Distance and Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed have wound up their commercial theatrical run.

The big surprise is the presence of Long Distance, which has forced top-quality works such as La isla mínima [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alberto Rodríguez
film profile], by Alberto Rodríguez, out of the race. The Academy has pinned its hopes on this long-distance love story directed by a very young Catalan director established in Los Angeles. In fact, its pronounced US influences, added to the fact that part of its production team is based in the mecca that is Hollywood and the fact that it already has a US distribution deal in the bag, are some of the points in its favour as it vies to become the Spanish candidate.

At the end of the month, the Academy will clear up any doubts by revealing the name of the final candidate, in the hopes that it will break the losing streak of Spanish productions, which for ten years now have been unable to break into the list of the five finalists for the award.

(Translated from Spanish)