15 September 2018 - Nominations for the 91st Academy Awards are not until Tuesday, January 22, but the first submissions for the best foreign-language film are now being announced.
Last year saw a record 92 submissions for the award, which were narrowed down to a shortlist of nine. This was cut to five nominees, with Sebastián Lelio’s transgender drama 'A Fantastic Woman' ultimately taking home the gold statue.
According to Mark Johnson, chairman of AMPAS’s foreign-language film award committee, the foreign-language Oscar once used to be the preserve of soft-centered films about gentle subjects, but recent years have seen the selection of more eclectic, edgier films. In fact, for the last 14 years, since Johnson became the chairman, many reforms were adopted within the voting and nomination process, which include: the increased relevance of the category within the award committee’s decision process, the rule which states that members who take part in the first round of voting need to see at least 16 films in order to have their votes qualify, objectiveness of the committee over what movie gets submitted etc.
This year, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s movie “Never Leave Me” and Montenegro’s “Iskra” join the Oscar race.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Never Leave Me (Aida Begić)
Begić’s first feature since 2012 Cannes Un Certain Regard selection Children Of Sarajevo - which was also a Bosnian Oscar entry - centers three Syrian refugee boys who live in the mythical Turkish city of Sanliurfa, and are searching for recovery from a traumatic past. It premiered at Antalya Film Festival in 2017 and has played at festivals including Dubai in 2017 and Edinburgh in 2018. This is Bosnia and Herzegovina’s 18th foreign language award entry; the country picked up the top award for Danis Tanović’s No Man’s Land in 2002. Begić’s Snow was also the country’s entry for the 2009 awards.
Montenegro: Iskra (Gojko Berkuljan)
Berkulijan’s feature debut stars Mirko Vlahovic as retired police detective Petar, who lives for his daughter Iskra. When she disappears, Petar must reach back into his past to help the investigation. Iskra played at Balkan festivals including Montenegro and Belgrade Film Festival. This is Montenegro’s fifth Oscar submission, with their first coming for the 2014 awards; the country is yet to receive a nomination.
