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

October 17, 2007

For Immediate Release:

63 Countries Seeking Foreign Language Film Oscar®

Beverly Hills, CA — A record 63 countries, including new entrants Azerbaijan and Ireland, have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 80th Academy Awards®, Academy President Sid Ganis announced today.

The 2007 submissions are:

Argentina, “XXY,” Lucia Puenzo, director;

Australia, “The Home Song Stories,” Tony Ayres, director;

Austria, “The Counterfeiters,” Stefan Ruzowitzky, director;

Azerbaijan, “Caucasia,” Farid Gumbatov, director;

Bangladesh, “On the Wings of Dreams,” Golam Rabbany Biplob, director;

Belgium, “Ben X,” Nic Balthazar, director;

Bosnia and Herzegovina, “It’s Hard to Be Nice,” Srdan Vuletic, director;

Brazil, “The Year My Parents Went on Vacation,” Cao Hamburger, director;

Bulgaria, “Warden of the Dead,” Ilian Simeonov, director;

Canada, “Days of Darkness,” Denys Arcand, director;

Chile, “Padre Nuestro,” Rodrigo Sepulveda, director;

China, “The Knot,” Yin Li, director;

Colombia, “Satanas,” Andi Baiz, director;

Croatia, “Armin,” Ognjen Svilicic, director;

Cuba, “The Silly Age,” Pavel Giroud, director;

Czech Republic, “I Served the King of England,” Jiri Menzel, director;

Denmark, “The Art of Crying,” Peter Schonau Fog, director;

Egypt, “In the Heliopolis Flat,” Mohamed Khan, director;

Estonia, “The Class,” Ilmar Raag, director;

Finland, “A Man’s Job,” Aleksi Salmenpera, director;

France, “Persepolis,” Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud, directors;

Georgia, “The Russian Triangle,” Aleko Tsabadze, director;

Germany, “The Edge of Heaven,” Fatih Akin, director;

Greece, “Eduart,” Angeliki Antoniou, director;

Hong Kong, “Exiled,” Johnnie To, director;

Hungary, “Taxidermia,” Gyorgy Palfi, director;

Iceland, “Jar City,” Baltasar Kormakur, director;

India, “Eklavya – The Royal Guard,” Vidhu Vinod Chopra, director;

Indonesia, “Denias, Singing on the Cloud,” John De Rantau, director;

Iran, “M for Mother,” Rasoul Mollagholipour, director;

Iraq, “Jani Gal,” Jamil Rostami, director;

Ireland, “Kings,” Tom Collins, director;

Israel, “Beaufort,” Joseph Cedar, director;

Italy, “The Unknown,” Giuseppe Tornatore, director;

Japan, “I Just Didn’t Do It,” Masayuki Suo, director;

Kazakhstan, “Mongol,” Sergei Bodrov, director;

Korea, “Secret Sunshine,” Chang-dong Lee, director;

Lebanon, “Caramel,” Nadine Labaki, director;

Luxembourg, “Little Secrets,” Pol Cruchten, director;

Macedonia, “Shadows,” Milcho Manchevski, director;

Mexico, “Silent Light,” Carlos Reygadas, director;

The Netherlands, “Duska,” Jos Stelling, director;

Norway, “Gone with the Woman,” Petter Naess, director;

Peru, “Crossing a Shadow,” Augusto Tamayo, director;

Philippines, “Donsol,” Adolfo Alix, Jr., director;

Poland, “Katyn,” Andrzej Wajda, director;

Portugal, “Belle Toujours,” Manoel de Oliveira, director;

Puerto Rico, “Love Sickness,” Carlitos Ruiz, Mariem Perez, directors;

Romania, “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days,” Cristian Mungiu, director;

Russia, “12,” Nikita Mikhalkov, director;

Serbia, “The Trap,” Srdan Golubovic, director;

Singapore, “881,” Royston Tan, director;

Slovakia, “Return of the Storks,” Martin Repka, director;

Slovenia, “Short Circuits,” Janez Lapajne, director;

Spain, “The Orphanage,” J.A. Bayona, director;

Sweden, “You, the Living,” Roy Andersson, director;

Switzerland, “Late Bloomers,” Bettina Oberli, director;

Taiwan, “Island Etude,” Chen Huai-En, director;

Thailand, “King of Fire,” Chatrichalerm Yukol, director;

Turkey, “A Man’s Fear of God,” Ozer Kiziltan, director;

Uruguay, “The Pope’s Toilet,” Enrique Fernandez, Cesar Charlone, directors;

Venezuela, “Postcards from Leningrad,” Mariana Rondon, director;

Vietnam, “The White Silk Dress,” Luu Huynh, director.

Nominations for the 80th Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, January 22, 2008, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2007 will be presented on Sunday, February 24, 2008, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network.

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