Peter Schønau Fog’s drama “You Disappear” has been selected as Denmark’s official entry to the Foreign Language Film category at the 2018 Academy Awards.
The film was chosen from a shortlist of three titles that also comprised Henrik Ruben Genz’ “Word of God” and Fenar Ahmad’s “Darkland.”
Peter Schønau Fog’s drama is based on Danish writer Christian Jungersen’s bestselling novel. Mia is married to the successful headmaster Frederik who is caught embezzling from his own school. But did he do this of his own free will – or has his personality been altered by the tumour lurking in his brain? The film is a story about the challenges we face as neuroscience forces us to rethink what we are as human beings.
“You Disappear” made its international premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, where critics emphasized Trine Dyrholm and Nikolaj Lie Kaas’ “powerful” and “moving” performances as Mia and Frederik. The cast also features Mikkel Boe Følsgaard and the late Michael Nyqvist.
“You Disappear” is Schønau Fog’s second film after his critically acclaimed feature debut “The Art of Crying” (2007), which was also selected for the Toronto Film Festival.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yf4kORjB04w&t=30sForeign Language Films
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YOU DISAPPEAR is Denmark’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER
Peter Schønau Fog’s drama “You Disappear” has been selected as Denmark’s official entry to the Foreign Language Film category at the 2018 Academy Awards.
The film was chosen from a shortlist of three titles that also comprised Henrik Ruben Genz’ “Word of God” and Fenar Ahmad’s “Darkland.”
Peter Schønau Fog’s drama is based on Danish writer Christian Jungersen’s bestselling novel. Mia is married to the successful headmaster Frederik who is caught embezzling from his own school. But did he do this of his own free will – or has his personality been altered by the tumour lurking in his brain? The film is a story about the challenges we face as neuroscience forces us to rethink what we are as human beings.
“You Disappear” made its international premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, where critics emphasized Trine Dyrholm and Nikolaj Lie Kaas’ “powerful” and “moving” performances as Mia and Frederik. The cast also features Mikkel Boe Følsgaard and the late Michael Nyqvist.
“You Disappear” is Schønau Fog’s second film after his critically acclaimed feature debut “The Art of Crying” (2007), which was also selected for the Toronto Film Festival.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yf4kORjB04w&t=30s
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MY PURE LAND is Britain’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER
British-Pakistani director Sarmad Masud’s Urdu language debut film My Pure Land has been selected as Britain’s submission for the best foreign language film category at the 2018 Oscars.
The film stars Suhaee Abro, Eman Malik, Syed Tanveer-Hussain, Razia Malik, Atif Akhtar Bhatti, Tayyab Azfal and Ahsen Murad.
My Pure Land world premiered at this year’s 2017 Edinburgh International Film Festival is based on a remarkable true story, told in partial flashbacks, about how a mother and her two daughters try to protect their remote Pakistan home, picking up machine guns to fight off a virtual army of armed men.
MY PURE LAND is a film based on a true story. A young woman called Nazo and her mother and sister are called to defend their home after a bitter family feud leads to her father’s incarceration. In their isolated farmhouse in Pakistan, the women find themselves surrounded by armed men hired by their Uncle Mehrban to take back the land. When Nazo’s resistance leaves two of the men dead, an enraged Mehrban calls in a local ragtag militia – two hundred armed bandits. But even with only a handful of bullets left, Nazo refuses to give in…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdY8bKCVIC0
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SAAWAN is Pakistan’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER
Saawan directed by Farhan Alam has been selected by Pakistan as the country’s selection in the ‘Foreign Language Film Award’ category at the 90th Academy Awards.
Saawan written and produced by Mashood Qadri, is based on a true story of a disabled child who lives in a valley in the mountains of Balochistan. He is rejected by his father, intimidated by society, harassed by friends and left alone due to his disability. Strengthened by memories and dreams of the love of his mother, he begins a perilous journey back to his family in the main city. The film features Saleem Mairaj, Syed Karam Abbas, Arif Bahalim, Najiba Faiz and Imran Aslam in the lead roles. The other cast includes Tipu Sharif, Hafeez Ali, Sehrish Qadri, Sohail Malik, Shahid Niazmi, Muhammad Abbas, Danial Yunus, Mehek Zulfiqar and Syed Muhammad Ali. The film won ‘Best Foreign Language Feature Film’ award at the 2017 Madrid International Film Festival and the Best Film and Best Soundtrack Award earlier this month at the 2017 Salento International Film Festival in Italy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heyVzwJeOzY
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A FANTASTIC WOMAN is Chile’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER
A Fantastic Woman (Una mujer fantástica) directed by Sebastian Lelio has been selected as Chile’s submission for the best foreign-language film category at the 2018 Oscars.
The film starring transgender star Daniela Vega premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Teddy Award, and the Silver Bear for best script.
Marina and Orlando are in love and planning for the future.
Marina is a young waitress and aspiring singer. Orlando is 20 years older than her, and owns a printing company.
After celebrating Marina’s birthday one evening, Orlando falls seriously ill. Marina rushes him to the emergency room, but he passes away just after arriving at the hospital.
Instead of being able to mourn her lover, suddenly Marina is treated with suspicion. The doctors and Orlando’s family don’t trust her. A woman detective investigates Marina to see if she was involved in his death. Orlando’s ex-wife forbids her from attending the funeral. And to make matters worse, Orlando’s son threatens to throw Marina out of the flat she shared with Orlando.
Marina is a trans woman and for most of Orlando’s family, her sexual identity is an aberration, a perversion.
So Marina struggles for the right to be herself. She battles the very same forces that she has spent a lifetime fighting just to become the woman she is now – a complex, strong, forthright and fantastic woman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgDhpy9Z-NM
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SHEIKH JACKSON is Egypt’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER
Sheikh Jackson directed by Amr Salama has been selected as Egypt’s candidate for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 2018 Oscars.
Starring Ahmed El-Fishawy, Ahmed Malek, Maged El-Kedwany and Amina Khalil, Sheikh Jackson is set to World Premiere on the final day of the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival.
June 25, 2009. Any Michael Jackson fan can tell you where they were on this date, the day the King of Pop died. Director and writer Amr Salama transports us back to that moment through the eyes — and the kaleidoscopic, MTV-inspired dreams — of a young imam (Ahmad Alfishawy), whose devout and devoted life is thrown into chaos by the passing of The Gloved One.
The tabloid event triggers memories of his teen years (rising star Ahmed Malek steps in here) when he worshiped everything Jacko did, from the Thriller-era haircut to the bondage pants from the Bad tour. But MJ’s passing also stirs up emotions around the death of the young cleric’s mother and its aftermath, when his gruff father (Maged El Kedwany) offered little support. With the sheikh’s past increasingly encroaching onthe present, he begins to question not just how to moonwalk but what it means to be a man, to have faith, and to be true to oneself. TIFF
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsijix35ORE
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SPOOR is Poland’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER
Spoor (Pokot) by Agnieszka Holland has been selected as Poland’s candidate for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards.
The film is based on Olga Tokarczuk’s best-selling novel “Drive Your Plough over the Bones of the Dead”, published in 2009; and stars Agnieszka Mandat, Wiktor Zborowski, Jakub Gierszał, Borys Szyc, Andrzej Grabowski, Tomasz Kot, Katarzyna Herman, Patricia Volny, Miroslav Krobot, Marcin Bosak, and Andrzej Konopka.
Spoor follows retired engineer Janina Duszejko, living in the Polish Sudeten mountains. One snowy winter night, she stumbles upon the dead body of her neighbor. The man, a poacher, had died a mysterious death. The only visible tracks around his house are roe deer hooves. Seeing the ineptitude of the police, Duszejko begins an unconventional investigation of her own.
Spoor (Pokot) had its world premiere at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival, where the film won the Silver Bear, the Alfred Bauer award for opening new perspectives in film art.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O96ZznajP5s
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BARRAGE Starring Isabelle Huppert is Luxembourg’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER
Barrage directed by Laura Schroeder has been selected to represent Luxembourg in the 90th edition of the Academy Awards in the category “Foreign Language Film Award”.
This film, written by Laura Schroeder and the French novelist Marie Nimier, is a drama about three generations of women, and stars Lolita Chammah, Isabelle Huppert as well as Themis Pauwels. Luxembourg actors Charles Müller, Marja-Leena Juncker and Luc Schiltz complete the cast.
Barrage celebrated its world premiere in February 2017 in the Forum section of the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival – it is the first feature film of a Luxembourg filmmaker hosted in official selection at the Festival. The Luxemburgish premiere took place in March 2017 at the Luxembourg City Film Festival. The film was also presented at the Vilnius Film Festival (Lithuania), the Titanic International Film Festival Budapest (Hungary), the Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema (Argentina), the Jeonju International Film Festival (South Korea) Jove – Valencia International Film Festival (Spain) and the New Horizons International Film Festival (Wroclaw, Poland). Barrage was released in Luxembourg and French cinemas on July 19, 2017.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENJUiV378Aw
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FROST is Lithuania’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER
Frost (Šerkšnas) directed by Sarunas Bartas has been selected as Lithuania’s submission for best foreign-language film at the upcoming 2018 Oscars.
The film that premiered in the Directors’ Fortnight section at Cannes in 2017, stars young Lithuanian newcomers Mantas Jančiauskas and Lyja Maknavičiūtė. The cast also includes the French star Vanessa Paradis and the famous Polish actor Andrzej Chyra.
Filmed during a complicated expedition to the front lines of the Ukraine, Frost tells the story of Inga and Rokas carrying aid from Vilnius to the Ukraine. At the line of engagement in Donetsk, the young couple, raised in the independent Lithuania without the experience of war, quickly realizes the feelings of people in the face of hatred, aggression, violence and ruin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93acrZ2dnqY
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SONG OF GRANITE is Ireland’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER
Song of Granite has been selected by Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) as Ireland’s submission for the Foreign Language category at the 90th Academy Awards. There were three titles eligible this year, Song of Granite, Rocky Ros Muc and Aithrí (Penance).
Directed by Pat Collins (Silence), ‘Song of Granite’ premiered to critical acclaim at the 2017 SXSW Film Festival earlier this year.
Acclaimed filmmaker Pat Collins brings the dramatic life story of legendary seannós singer Joe Heaney to the screen, an audacious exploration of the man and his music. With an approach that marries traditional narrative episodes with documentary footage, the film celebrates the music Joe Heaney created while painting an unflinching portrait of Heaney, the man. Enigmatic and complex, Joe Heaney was one of the greats of traditional Irish singing. Shaped by the myths, fables and songs of his upbringing in the west of Ireland, his emergence as a gifted artist came at a personal cost. Featuring performances from Lisa O’Neill, Damien Dempsey, Seamus Begley and sean nós singers Micheál O’Confhaola and Pól Ó Ceannabháin, the film is an intense exploration of music and song.
Áine Moriarty – IFTA CEO said: “The Irish Academy is delighted that this hauntingly beautiful and lyrical film from Pat Collins will represent Ireland in the Oscar Foreign Language contest – with Richard Kendrick’s masterful cinematography, Ireland’s picturesque landscape and unique culture of song and story takes centre stage, as the story of legendary singer Joe Heaney is skilfully brought to life – a story that will resonate with many immigrants worldwide from diverse cultural backgrounds.”
Pat Collins – Director and co-writer of ‘Song of Granite’ said: “Joe Heaney, the subject of this film, was a great teacher and advocate for the Irish traditional singing and taught singing to students all over America. He remains one of the great traditional singers. I think he would have liked the notion of a film with sean nós singing at its core representing Ireland in an international competition like the Oscars.”
Alan Maher and Jessie Fisk of Marcie Films “We are so proud that Song of Granite has been selected as the Irish entry for the Foreign Language Oscar. The film’s journey to date has been a real labour of love and it makes us all so happy to receive this very special recognition”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBbfPpWPuoE
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SUMMER 1993 is Spain’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER
Summer 1993 (Estiu 1993), the debut feature film of director Carla Simon, has been selected by the Spanish film academy to represent Spain in the best foreign-language film category at the 90th Academy Awards.
The story is inspired by the director Carla Simon’s own experiences as a child. Summer 1993 premiered at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival where it won Best First Feature Award.
In the summer 1993, following the death of her parents, six years old Frida moves from Barcelona to the Catalan province to live with her aunt and uncle, who are now her new legal guardians. The country life is a challenge for Frida – time passes differently in her new home and the nature that surrounds her is mysterious and estranging. She now has a little sister for whom she has to take care of and has to deal with new feelings, such as jealousy. Often, Frida is naively convinced that running away would be the best solution to her problems. Yet, the family does what it can to achieve a fragile new balance and bring normality to their life. Occasional family outings to a local fiesta or a swimming pool, cooking or listening to jazz in the garden bring them moments of happiness. Slowly, Frida realizes that she is there to stay and has to adapt to the new environment. Before the season is over, she has to cope with her emotions and her parents have to learn to love her as their own daughter.
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THE FIXER is Romania’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER
Adrian Sitaru’s The Fixer / Fixeur has been selected by Romania to represent the country in the best foreign-language film category at the 90th Academy Awards.
The film starring Tudor Aaron Istodor, Mehdi Nebbou, Nicolas Wanczycki, Diana Spatarescu, Adrian Titieni, world premiered at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival.
In The Fixer, Romanian-born Radu Patru (Tudor Istodor) is a trainee at a prestigious French news network. Serving as a translator and general problem solver, or “fixer,” for the headlining journalists during his trial period, he’s looking to make his big break. He sees his opportunity when two underage Romanian prostitutes are repatriated from France, creating an international scandal. Taking advantage of his language skills and local connections, Radu is prepared to do whatever it takes to interview one of the young girls. But as he ventures into tricky moral ground, he must stop to ask himself if, as an aspiring journalist, he can live with the consequences of his actions, and if, as a father, he’s setting a good example for his son.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTMWK6YsWY8
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AMERIKA SQUARE is Greece’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER
Amerika Square (Plateia Amerikis) directed by Yannis Sakaridis is Greece’s submission for the Best Foreign-language Film at the 90th Academy Awards. The film premiered last year at the Busan International Film Festival, and has won numerous awards including the FIPRESCI Prize at Thessaloniki International Film Festival, and Best Feature at the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival.
Filmmaker Yannis Sakaridis presents a clever satirical view of the Greek migrant crisis by exploring both xenophobic and sympathetic sentiments of Greeks towards foreigners escaping the war and hardships that engulfed their native lands. Told from three different points of view, the story follow through to an upbeat, yet realistic and plausible ending.
Nakos is an unemployed inhabitant of the small neighborhood of Amerika Square who grows increasingly disgruntled at the influx of Middle Eastern migrants coming to Athens. Much of Nakos’ frustration stems from his inability to do anything about the new demographics of his neighborhood, a situation he spends most of his time brooding over instead of undertaking measures to address the much bigger problem at hand – his dead-end life. The pathetic Nakos has few close allies – his parents with whom he lives and childhood friend Billy, the selfless tattoo artist next door in whom Nakos confides his hatred of immigrants. What Nakos does not confide in Billy is a sinister plan to eliminate some of the migrants utilizing a desperate measure that accomplishes a chain reaction only resulting in the loss of Nakos’ few remaining friends. Billy, a lost soul himself who has wittingly and unwittingly impacted countless other lost souls through his line of work, seizes upon an opportunity to help two migrants escape from Athens; one of which a beautiful African singer with whom he falls in love and sees that she escapes to France at great cost to himself; the other a weary Syrian doctor escaping the war in Aleppo and trying desperately to reunite with his 9 year old daughter who has been smuggled to Germany ahead of him.
In the end, sympathy and selflessness resonate more brightly than intolerance and Nakos finds his anti-migrant attitude to have cost him his only allies and the shreds of pride and dignity that had been clutching all along.