Foreign Oscar Submissions and TIFF and Deuville Award Winners

The submissions for the foreign language Oscars are all due on 1 October, and so far, thirty countries have announced their entries. Currently, the Netherlands are reconsidering their choice of Jean van de Velde's The Silent Army [Wit licht], which played out of competition at this year's Cannes Film Festival, as it risks being disqualified for not being "Dutch" enough; a good portion of the dialogue is in English. Thanks to Movie On for the full list. Of the films below, only one filmmaker (Giuseppe Tornatore) is a previous winner, and so far six (maybe seven) have US distribution. David Hudson ponders why Germany, and not Austria, will be submitting Michael Haneke's The White Ribbon over at The Auteurs Daily.

Armenia: Autumn of the Magician, d. Ruben Gevorkyants, Vahe Gevorkyants
Austria: Ein Augenblick Freiheit [For a Moment, Freedom], d. Arash T. Riahi
Belgium: De helaasheid der dingen [The Misfortunates], d. Felix van Groeningen
Brazil: Salve Geral, d. Sérgio Rezende
Bulgaria: The World is Big and Salvation Lurks around the Corner, d. Stephan Komandarev
Chile: Dawson Isla 10 [Dawson Island 10], d. Miguel Littin
Finland: Postia pappi Jaakobille [Letters to Father Jacob], d. Klaus Härö
France: Un prophète [A Prophet], d. Jacques Audiard, Sony Pictures Classics
Germany: Das weiße Band [The White Ribbon], d. Michael Haneke, Sony Pictures Classics
Hong Kong: Prince of Tears, d. Yonfan
Hungary: Kaméleon [Chameleon], d. Krisztina Goda
India: Harishchandrachi Factory, d. Paresh Mokashi
Iran: About Elly, d. Asghar Farhadi, Here! Films
Italy: Baarìa, d. Giuseppe Tornatore
Japan: Nobody to Watch Over Me, d. Ryôichi Kimizuka
Kazakhstan: Kelin, d. Ermek Tursunov
Lithuania: Duburys [Waterhole], d. Gitis Luksas
Morocco: Casanegra, d. Nour Eddine Lakhmari
Portugal: Um Amor de Perdição [Doomed Love], d. Mário Barroso
Romania: Poliţist, adj.. [Police, Adjetive], d. Corneliu Porumboiu, IFC Films
Serbia: Here and There, d. Darko Lungulov
Slovenia: Pokrajina Št.2 [Landscape No.2], d. Vinko Moderndorfer, Vanguard [released on DVD 25 August]
South Africa: White Wedding, d. Jann Turner
South Korea: Mother, d. Bong Joon-ho, Magnolia
Sri Lanka: Akasa Kusum [Flowers in the Sky], d. Prasanna Vithanage
Sweden: De ofrivilliga [Involuntary], d. Ruben Östlund
Switzerland: Home, d. Ursula Meier, Lorber Films (?)
Taiwan: No puedo vivir sin ti, d. Leon Dai
Thailand: Best in Time, d. Youngyooth Thongkonthun
Venezuela: Libertador Morales, el justiciero, d. Efterpi Charalambidis


Though technically not a competitive film festival like Cannes, Sundance, Venice or Berlin, the selected few awards given at this year's Toronto International Film Festival were announced over the weekend.

People's Choice Award: Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire - d. Lee Daniels
- First Runner-Up: Mao's Last Dancer - d. Bruce Beresford
- Second Runner-Up: Micmacs [Micmacs à tire-larigot] - d. Jean-Pierre Jeunet
People's Choice Award for Documentary: The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls - d. Leanne Pooley
- Runner-Up: Capitalism: A Love Story - d. Michael Moore
People's Choice for Midnight Madness: The Loved Ones - d. Sean Byrne
- Runner-Up: Daybreakers - d. Peter Spierig, Michael Spierig

Best Canadian Feature Film: Cairo Time - d. Ruba Nadda
Best Canadian First Feature Film: The Wild Hunt - d. Alexandre Franchi

FIPRESCI Prize for Special Presentations Section: Hadewijch - d. Bruno Dumont
FIPRESCI Prize for Discovery Section: The Man Beyond the Bridge - d. Laxmikant Shetgaonkar


Precious also tied for the Prix du jury at the 35th annual Deauville Festival du cinéma américain last week. The jury was headed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and included actors Hiam Abbas, Émilie Dequenne, Deborah François, Sandrine Kiberlain, Géraldine Pailhas, Dany Boon, screenwriter Jean-Loup Dabadie (César et Rosalie), and directors Patrice Leconte and Bruno Podalydès (Dieu seul me voit). The winners are below.

Grand Prix: The Messenger - d. Oren Moverman
Prix du jury: (tie) Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire - d. Lee Daniels; Sin Nombre - d. Cary Fukunaga
Prix de la révélation Cartier [Cartier Newcomer Award]: Humpday - d. Lynn Shelton

DVD and Acquisition Updates - 14 September 2009

Three new IFC/MPI titles and a slew of films from Asia are on the bill for this DVD round-up.

- Silence, ça tue!, 2008, d. Christophe Lamont, Brink/MVD, 22 September
- Decoder, 1984, d. Muscha, Cobraside/MVD, 29 September, w. William S. Burroughs, FM Einheit, Genesis P-Orridge
- The Asphyx, 1973, d. Peter Newbrook Hens Tooth, 27 October
- Bloody Beach, 2000, d. Kim In Soo, Pathfinder, 3 November
- Fear of Fiction, 2000, d. Charlie Ahearn, Brink/MVD, 17 November, w. Melissa Leo, Sam Trammell, Penn Jillette, Reno
- Hansel & Gretel, 2007, d. Yim Pil-sung, Tokyo Shock, 17 November
- Teacher's Pet, 2005, d. Chung Ji Woo, Pathfinder, 17 November
- Thirst, 2009, d. Park Chan-wook, Focus Features, 17 November
- Green Fish, 1997, d. Lee Chang-dong, Pathfinder, 24 November
- Peter Pan Formula, 2005, d. Cho Chang-ho, Pathfinder, 24 November
- Devilman, 2004, d. Hiroyuki Nasu, Tokyo Shock, Special Edition, 24 November
- Dog Eat Dog [Perro come perro], 2008, d. Carlos Moreno, IFC Films, 8 December
- Ghosted, 2009, d. Monika Treut, First Run Features, 8 December
- Home Movie, 2008, d. Christopher Denham, IFC Films, 8 December
- Prima Ballerina, 2009, d. Laurent Gentot, First Run, 8 December
- The Skeptic, 2009, d. Tennyson Bardwell, IFC Films, 8 December
- The Year of the Jellyfish [L'année des méduses], 1984, d. Christopher Frank, Televista, 22 December
- Kid with the Golden Arm, 1979, d. Chang Cheh, Tokyo Shock, 29 December

Date Changes

- Spectacle: Elvis Costello with…, 3 November, also on Blu-ray
- Janky Promoters, 24 November
- Lesbian Vampire Killers, 29 December
- Antichrist, Artificial Eye/UK, 11 January

In acquisition news, you've probably already read about the strange distribution deal Richard Linklater's Me and Orson Welles is (finally) receiving nearly a year after its premiere at Toronto. Sony Pictures Classics nabbed Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Micmacs [Micmacs à tire-larigot]. National Geographic Films announced their second theatrical release in Lu Chuan's City of Life and Death. Kino will release Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani's Ajami, which received a Special Mention for the Camera d'Or at Cannes this year. IFC took Mia Hansen-Løve's Father of My Children [Le père de mes enfants]. And Zeitgeist picked up Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar's A Town Called Panic [Panique au village].

Magnolia disclosed that they're planning to release Bong Joon-ho's Mother, which South Korea announced recently as their Academy Award submission for 2009. In addition to Mother, they also took the US rights to Bong's first film, Barking Dogs Don't Bite, from 2000 (likely for just a DVD release, but I'm not sure). The director's The Host was one of the company's biggest successes to date.

Thanks to Eric from ioncinema for directing me to this: Mark Urman, former head of ThinkFilm, has started a new company called Paladin. Their first title Steve Jacobs' Disgrace, which stars John Malkovich and Eriq Ebouaney, was released in New York City this past Friday, and before the end of the year, Paladin will roll out Splinterheads, a comedy written and directed by Brant Sersen (Blackballed), and Jodie Markell's adaptation of Tennessee Williams' The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond, starring Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Evans, Ann-Margret, Ellen Burstyn and David Strathairn. Early next year, they'll release the new Bette Gordon (Variety) feature Handsome Harry, with Jamey Sheridan, Steve Buscemi, Aidan Quinn, John Savage, Campbell Scott, Karen Young and Bill Sage.

And finally, perhaps I mentioned this before, but I remember reading somewhere that Lorber Films will be picking up Ursula Meier's extraordinary debut feature Home, which stars Isabelle Huppert and Olivier Gourmet, for a 2010 release. Fingers crossed! All for now.

Cannes 2009 Line-Up: Updates

Via Variety, the full jury, headed by Isabelle Huppert, has also been announced: Asia Argento, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Lee Chang-dong, James Gray, Hanif Kureishi, Shu Qi and Robin Wright Penn. In addition to that, a number of other screenings have been announced out of the festival's main competition. Marina de Van's Ne te retourne pas, her second feature after Dans ma peau [In My Skin], will screen along with Sam Raimi's Drag Me to Hell in the Midnight Program. The film stars Sophie Marceau, Monica Bellucci and Andrea Di Stefano. Michel Gondry's L'épine dans le coeur, Souleymane Cissé's (Yeelen) Min ye and Keren Yedaya's (Or My Treasure) Jaffa will receive special screenings. In the Un Certain Regard category: Denis Dercourt's (The Page Turner) Demain des l'aube; Alain Cavalier's (La chamade) Irène; Bahman Ghobadi's (A Time for Drunken Horses) Nobody Knows About the Persian Cats; Bong Joon-ho's (The Host) Mother; João Pedro Rodrigues' (O Fantasma) To Die Like a Man; Tales from the Golden Age from Romanian directors Hanno Hofer, Razvan Marculescu, Cristian Mungiu, Constantin Popescu and Ioana Uricaru; Pavel Lounguine's (Taxi Blues) Tzar; Pen-ek Ratanaruang's (Last Life in the Universe) Nymph; and Lee Daniels' (Shadowboxer) Precious, formerly known as Push. Check the Variety link above for more information.