..Gary Dretzka
..Noah Forrest
..Leonard Klady
..R.J. Matson
..David Poland
..Douglas Pratt
..Ray Pride
..Michael Wilmington

October 20, 2003

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Record-Breaking 55 Countries
in Competition for Oscar(R)

Beverly Hills, CA - A record-breaking 55 countries have submitted films to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Academy Award(R) consideration in the Foreign Language Film Award category, Academy President Frank Pierson announced today.

It is the largest number of films ever entered in this category, besting last year's record by one film.

The submissions for 2003 are:

Afghanistan, "Osama," Siddiq Barmak, director;
Argentina, "Valentine," Alejandro Agresti, director;
Austria, "Free Radicals," Barbara Albert, director;
Belgium, "Sea of Silence," Stijn Coninx, director;
Bolivia, "Dependencia Sexual," Rodrigo Bellott, director;
Bosnia and Herzegovina, "Fuse," Pjer Zalica, director;
Brazil, "Carandiru," Hector Babenco, director;
Bulgaria, "Journey to Jerusalem," Ivan Nichev, director;
Canada, "The Barbarian Invasions," Denys Arcand, director;
Chile, "Los Debutantes," Andres Waissbluth, director;
China, "Warriors of Heaven and Earth," He Ping, director;
Colombia, "The First Night," Luis Alberto Restrepo, director;
Croatia, "Witnesses," Vinko Bresan, director;
Cuba, "Suite Habana," Fernando Perez, director;
Czech Republic, "Zelary," Ondrej Trojan, director;
Denmark, "Reconstruction," Christoffer Boe, director;
Egypt, "Sleepless Nights," Hany Khalifa, director;
Finland, "Elina," Klaus Haro, director;
France, "Bon Voyage," Jean-Paul Rappeneau, director;
Germany, "Good Bye, Lenin!," Wolfgang Becker, director;
Greece, "Think It Over," Katerina Evangelakou, director;
Hong Kong, "Infernal Affairs," Andrew Lau & Alan Mak, directors;
Hungary, "Forest," Benedek Fliegauf, director;
Iceland, "Noi the Albino," Dagur Kari Petursson, director;
Indonesia, "The Stringless Violin," Sekar Ayu Asmara, director;
Iran, "Deep Breath," Parviz Shahbazi, director;
Israel, "Nina's Tragedies," Savi Gavison, director;
Italy, "I'm Not Scared," Gabriele Salvatores, director;
Japan, "The Twilight Samurai," Yoji Yamada, director;
Korea, "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring," Kim Ki-duk, director;
Lebanon, "The Kite," Randa Chahal Sabbag, director;
Luxembourg, "I Always Wanted to Be a Saint," Genevieve Mersch, director;
Mexico, "Aro Tolbukhin (In the Mind of a Killer)," Agustín Villaronga, Lydia Zimmermann, Isaac P. Racine, directors;
Mongolia, "The Story of the Weeping Camel," Byambasuren Davaa and Luigi Falorni, directors;
Nepal, "Muna Madan," Gyanendra Bahadur Deuja, director;
Netherlands, "Twin Sisters," Ben Sombogaart, director;
Norway, "Kitchen Stories," Bent Hamer, director;
Palestine, "Divine Intervention," Elia Suleiman, director;
Peru, "Paper Dove," Fabrizio Aguilar, director;
Philippines, "Dekada ‘70," Chito S. Rono, director;
Poland, "Pornografia," Jan Jakub Kolski, director;
Portugal, "Um Filme Falado," Manoel De Oliveira, director;
Russia, "The Return," Andrei Zvyagintsev, director;
Serbia and Montenegro, "The Professional," Dusan Kovacevic, director;
Slovakia, "King of Thieves," Ivan Fíla, director;
Slovenia, "Spare Parts," Damjan Kozole, director;
Spain, "Soldados de Salamina," David Trueba, director;
Sri Lanka, "Mansion by the Lake," Lester James Peries, director;
Sweden, "Evil," Mikael Hafstrom, director;
Taiwan, "Goodbye, Dragon Inn," Tsai Ming-Liang, director;
Thailand, "Last Life in the Universe," Pen-ek Ratanaruang, director;
Turkey, "Distant," Nuri Bilge Ceylan, director;
Ukraine, "Mamay," Oles Sanin, director;
Uruguay, "Seawards Journey," Guillermo Casanova, director;
Venezuela, "Sangrador," Leonardo Henriquez, director.

Six films have won both the Foreign Language Film Oscar and another award as well: the winner in 2000, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," also won Oscars for Art Direction, Cinematography and Best Original Score; 1998's winner, "Life Is Beautiful," also received both the Best Actor Award for its star Roberto Benigni and the Oscar for Best Original Dramatic Score; "Fanny and Alexander," which won in 1983, also won Oscars for Costume Design, Cinematography and Art

Direction; "Z," the 1969 winner, also won for Film Editing; "A Man and a Woman," which won in 1966, also won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar; and the 1963 winner, "8 1/2," also won an Oscar for Costume Design.

The 76th Academy Award nominations will be announced at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater on Tuesday, January 27, 2004.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2003 will be presented on Sunday, February 29, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland(R) and televised live by the ABC Television Network at 5 p.m. PST, beginning with a half-hour arrival segment.