The blue bird will not fly
The feature from Dutch Mijke de Jong, Bluebird, chosen to represent Holland in the selections for the Oscars 2006 in the category Best Film in a Foreign Language has been removed from the selection.
The reasons given by the Oscars Academy? The film was unfortunately broadcast before its theatrical release in a similar version in 2004 on the Dutch channel NCRV, co-producer of the film. The rules are very strict : a film running for an Oscar cannot be on television before it reaches the theatres. After the refusal of nominations from Austria, Greece and Italy, and the disqualification of films from Bolivia and Tajikistan, 55 countries remain.
Huge success with the Dutch public where the film was released in February, Bluebird, a production from Egmond Film and Television with NCRV Television, was screened in competition at the Kinderfilmfest at the Berlinale last year and won the Crystal Bear for best film.
(Translated from French)
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