The bumper haul vying for glory at the 85th Academy Awards includes the first ever entry from Kenya, while Cambodia returns to the fray for the first time in nearly two decades.
Iran announced in September it would boycott the event in response to the incendiary anti-Islam film Innocence Of Muslims. Iranian director Asghar Farhadi’s family drama A Separation won the foreign language Oscar earlier this year.
The 2012 submissions are in alphabetical order of country:
Afghanistan – The Patience Stone, Atiq Rahimi;
Albania – Pharmakon, Joni Shanaj;
Algeria, Zabana! Said Ould Khelifa;
Argentina, Clandestine Childhood, Benjamín Ávila;
Armenia, If Only Everyone, Natalia Belyauskene;
Australia, Lore, Cate Shortland;
Austria, Amour (pictured), Michael Haneke;
Azerbaijan, Buta, Ilgar Najaf;
Bangladesh, Pleasure Boy Komola, Humayun Ahmed;
Belgium, Our Children, Joachim Lafosse;
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Children Of Sarajevo, Aida Begic;
Brazil, The Clown, Selton Mello;
Bulgaria, Sneakers, Valeri Yordanov and Ivan Vladimirov;
Cambodia, Lost Loves, Chhay Bora;
Canada, War Witch, Kim Nguyen;
Chile, No, Pablo Larraín;
China, Caught In The Web, Chen Kaige;
Colombia, The Snitch Cartel, Carlos Moreno;
Croatia, Vegetarian Cannibal, Branko Schmidt;
Czech Republic, In The Shadow, David Ondrícek;
Denmark, A Royal Affair, Nikolaj Arcel;
Dominican Republic, Jaque Mate, José María Cabral;
Estonia, Mushrooming, Toomas Hussar;
Finland, Purge, Antti J Jokinen;
France, The Intouchables, Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano;
Georgia, Keep Smiling, Rusudan Chkonia;
Germany, Barbara, Christian Petzold;
Greece, Unfair World, Filippos Tsitos;
Greenland, Inuk, Mike Magidson;
Hong Kong, Life Without Principle, Johnnie To;
Hungary, Just The Wind, Bence Fliegauf;
Iceland, The Deep, Baltasar Kormákur;
India, Barfi!, Anurag Basu;
Indonesia, The Dancer, Ifa Isfansyah;
Israel, Fill The Void, Rama Burshtein;
Italy, Caesar Must Die, Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani;
Japan, Our Homeland, Yang Yonghi;
Kazakhstan, Myn Bala: Warriors Of The Steppe, Akan Satayev;
Kenya, Nairobi Half Life, David ‘Tosh’ Gitonga;
Kyrgyzstan, The Empty Home, Nurbek Egen;
Latvia, Gulf Stream Under The Iceberg, Yevgeny Pashkevich;
Lithuania, Ramin, Audrius Stonys;
Macedonia, The Third Half, Darko Mitrevski;
Malaysia, Bunohan, Dain Iskandar Said;
Mexico, After Lucia, Michel Franco;
Morocco, Death For Sale, Faouzi Bensaïdi;
Netherlands, Kauwboy, Boudewijn Koole;
Norway, Kon-Tiki, Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg;
Palestine, When I Saw You, Annemarie Jacir;
Peru, The Bad Intentions, Rosario García-Montero;
Philippines, Bwakaw, Jun Robles Lana;
Poland, 80 Million, Waldemar Krzystek;
Portugal, Blood Of My Blood, João Canijo;
Romania, Beyond The Hills, Cristian Mungiu;
Russia, White Tiger, Karen Shakhnazarov;
Serbia, When Day Breaks, Goran Paskaljevic;
Singapore, Already Famous, Michelle Chong;
Slovak Republic, Made In Ash, Iveta Grófová;
Slovenia, A Trip, Nejc Gazvoda;
South Africa, Little One, Darrell James Roodt;
South Korea, Pieta, Kim Ki-duk;
Spain, Blancanieves, Pablo Berger;
Sweden, The Hypnotist, Lasse Hallström;
Switzerland, Sister, Ursula Meier;
Taiwan, Touch Of The Light, Chang Jung-Chi;
Thailand, Headshot, Pen-ek Ratanaruang;
Turkey, Where The Fire Burns, Ismail Gunes;
Ukraine, The Firecrosser, Mykhailo Illienko;
Uruguay, The Delay, Rodrigo Plá;
Venezuela, Rock, Paper, Scissors, Hernán Jabes; and
Vietnam, The Scent Of Burning Grass, Nguyen Huu Muoi.
The nominations will be announced on Jan 10, 2013 and the awards ceremony is scheduled to take place on Feb 24 at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre.
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