2017 Oscars: 85 Countries Will Compete for the Foreign Language Film Oscar

Erik Anderson October 11, 2016

Neruda (Chile), The Salesman (Iran), Toni Erdmann (Germany), Land of Mine (Denmark) and Elle (France) among 85 hopefuls for next year's Foreign Language Film Oscar — **Neruda (Chile), The Salesman (Iran), Toni Erdmann (Germany), Land of Mine (Denmark) and Elle (France) among 85 hopefuls for next year’s Foreign Language Film Oscar**

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LOS ANGELES, CA – Eighty-five countries have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 89th Academy Awards^®. Yemen is a first-time entrant.

This marks the 60th anniversary of the Foreign Language Film category.

You can hop over to our Foreign Language Film submission watch list for more details like trivia, Oscar history per country, distributor and trailer where available. Then check out who the Gold Rush Gang thinks will make it to the 9-film shortlist due on January 17th, 2017. Current frontrunners include Neruda (Chile), The Salesman (Iran), Toni Erdmann (Germany), Land of Mine (Denmark), and Elle (France).

The official 2016 submissions are:

Albania, “Chromium,” Bujar Alimani, director
Algeria, “The Well,” Lotfi Bouchouchi, director
Argentina, “The Distinguished Citizen,” Mariano Cohn, Gastón Duprat, directors
Australia, “Tanna,” Bentley Dean, Martin Butler, directors
Austria, “Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe,” Maria Schrader, director
Bangladesh, “The Unnamed,” Tauquir Ahmed, director
Belgium, “The Ardennes,” Robin Pront, director
Bolivia, “Sealed Cargo,” Julia Vargas Weise, director
Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Death in Sarajevo,” Danis Tanovic, director
Brazil, “Little Secret,” David Schurmann, director
Bulgaria, “Losers,” Ivaylo Hristov, director
Cambodia, “Before the Fall,” Ian White, director
Canada, “It’s Only the End of the World,” Xavier Dolan, director
Chile, “Neruda,” Pablo Larraín, director
China, “Xuan Zang,” Huo Jianqi, director
Colombia, “Alias Maria,” José Luis Rugeles, director
Costa Rica, “About Us,” Hernán Jiménez, director
Croatia, “On the Other Side,” Zrinko Ogresta, director
Cuba, “The Companion,” Pavel Giroud, director
Czech Republic, “Lost in Munich,” Petr Zelenka, director
Denmark, “Land of Mine,” Martin Zandvliet, director
Dominican Republic, “Sugar Fields,” Fernando Báez, director
Ecuador, “Such Is Life in the Tropics,” Sebastián Cordero, director
Egypt, “Clash,” Mohamed Diab, director
Estonia, “Mother,” Kadri Kõusaar, director
Finland, “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki,” Juho Kuosmanen, director
France, “Elle,” Paul Verhoeven, director
Georgia, “House of Others,” Rusudan Glurjidze, director
Germany, “Toni Erdmann,” Maren Ade, director
Greece, “Chevalier,” Athina Rachel Tsangari, director
Hong Kong, “Port of Call,” Philip Yung, director
Hungary, “Kills on Wheels,” Attila Till, director
Iceland, “Sparrows,” Rúnar Rúnarsson, director
India, “Interrogation,” Vetri Maaran, director
Indonesia, “Letters from Prague,” Angga Dwimas Sasongko, director
Iran, “The Salesman,” Asghar Farhadi, director
Iraq, “El Clásico,” Halkawt Mustafa, director
Israel, “Sand Storm,” Elite Zexer, director
Italy, “Fire at Sea,” Gianfranco Rosi, director
Japan, “Nagasaki: Memories of My Son,” Yoji Yamada, director
Jordan, “3000 Nights,” Mai Masri, director
Kazakhstan, “Amanat,” Satybaldy Narymbetov, director
Kosovo, “Home Sweet Home,” Faton Bajraktari, director
Kyrgyzstan, “A Father’s Will,” Bakyt Mukul, Dastan Zhapar Uulu, directors
Latvia, “Dawn,” Laila Pakalnina, director
Lebanon, “Very Big Shot,” Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya, director
Lithuania, “Seneca’s Day,” Kristijonas Vildziunas, director
Luxembourg, “Voices from Chernobyl,” Pol Cruchten, director
Macedonia, “The Liberation of Skopje,” Rade Šerbedžija, Danilo Šerbedžija, directors
Malaysia, “Beautiful Pain,” Tunku Mona Riza, director
Mexico, “Desierto,” Jonás Cuarón, director
Montenegro, “The Black Pin,” Ivan Marinović, director
Morocco, “A Mile in My Shoes,” Said Khallaf, director
Nepal, “The Black Hen,” Min Bahadur Bham, director
Netherlands, “Tonio,” Paula van der Oest, director
New Zealand, “A Flickering Truth,” Pietra Brettkelly, director
Norway, “The King’s Choice,” Erik Poppe, director
Pakistan, “Mah-e-Mir,” Anjum Shahzad, director
Palestine, “The Idol,” Hany Abu-Assad, director
Panama, “Salsipuedes,” Ricardo Aguilar Navarro, Manolito Rodríguez, directors
Peru, “Videophilia (and Other Viral Syndromes),” Juan Daniel F. Molero, director
Philippines, “Ma’ Rosa,” Brillante Ma Mendoza, director
Poland, “Afterimage,” Andrzej Wajda, director
Portugal, “Letters from War,” Ivo M. Ferreira, director
Romania, “Sieranevada,” Cristi Puiu, director
Russia, “Paradise,” Andrei Konchalovsky, director
Saudi Arabia, “Barakah Meets Barakah,” Mahmoud Sabbagh, director
Serbia, “Train Driver’s Diary,” Milos Radovic, director
Singapore, “Apprentice,” Boo Junfeng, director
Slovakia, “Eva Nová,” Marko Skop, director
Slovenia, “Houston, We Have a Problem!” Žiga Virc, director
South Africa, “Call Me Thief,” Daryne Joshua, director;
South Korea, “The Age of Shadows,” Kim Jee-woon, director
Spain, “Julieta,” Pedro Almodóvar, director
Sweden, “A Man Called Ove,” Hannes Holm, director
Switzerland, “My Life as a Zucchini,” Claude Barras, director
Taiwan, “Hang in There, Kids!” Laha Mebow, director
Thailand, “Karma,” Kanittha Kwunyoo, director
Turkey, “Cold of Kalandar,” Mustafa Kara, director
Ukraine, “Ukrainian Sheriffs,” Roman Bondarchuk, director
United Kingdom, “Under the Shadow,” Babak Anvari, director
Uruguay, “Breadcrumbs,” Manane Rodríguez, director
Venezuela, “From Afar,” Lorenzo Vigas, director
Vietnam, “Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass,” Victor Vu, director
Yemen, “I Am Nojoom, Age 10 and Divorced,” Khadija Al-Salami, director

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.