2001 Academy Awards: Eligible Foreign Language Films
The rules for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar category stipulate that every nation may submit one official candidate, to be selected wholly by that nation, but following an Academy-determined "formula" that "measures" a film's "ethnicity." If this clause sounds bizarre, its effects are even more so: in 1994, Krzysztof Kieslowski's film Red, cast largely with Swiss actors and filmed by a Swiss-heavy crew in Switzerland, was ruled out because it wasn't "sufficiently Swiss." Then, of course, there is the whole issue that maybe two of the year's best foreign language films might be produced in the same country (Iran? Hong Kong? Italy?). The Academy has no taste for such international prolificity, so in the case of Iran, Majid Majidi's Baran is in but Mohsen Makhmalbaf's hypnotic Kandahar and Jafar Panahi's superlative The Circle are left out. (It only raises the "Huh?" Factor that The Circle is eligible for the mainstream awards, while neither Baran nor Kandahar is.)
The following list of 2001's officially submitted Foreign Language Films is alphabetized by nation, so if you're rooting for a particular country, you can easily check out the relevant candidate. Of course, it's always eye-opening to catch as many of these films as possible, so consider bookmarking this page as a left-of-center rental guide!
ALBANIA: Slogans, dir. Gjergi Xhuvani
ALGERIA: Inch'Allah Dimanche, dir. Yamina Benguigui
ARGENTINA: Son of the Bride, dir. Juan José Campanella
ARMENIA: Symphony of Silence, dir. Vigen Chaldranian
AUSTRALIA: La Spagnola, dir. Steve Jacobs
AUSTRIA: The Piano Teacher, dir. Michael Haneke
BELGIUM: Pauline Et Paulette, dir. Lieven Debrauwer
BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA: No Man's Land, dir. Danis Tanovic
BRAZIL: Behind the Sun, dir. Walter Salles
BULGARIA: Fate as a Rat, dir. Ivan Pavlov
CANADA: Atanarjuat The Fast Runner, dir. Zacharias Kunuk
CHILE: Taxi Para Tres (A Cab for Three), dir. Orlando Lubbert
COLOMBIA: Our Lady of the Assassins, dir. Barbet Schroeder
CROATIA: Queen of the Night, dir. Branko Schmidt
THE CZECH REPUBLIC: Dark Blue World, dir. Jan Sverak
DENMARK: Italian For Beginners, dir. Lone Scherfig
ESTONIA: The Heart of the Bear, dir. Arvo Iho
FINLAND: The River, dir. Jarmo Lampela
FRANCE: Amélie, dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet
GEORGIA: The Migration Of The Angel, dir. Nodar Managadze
GERMANY: Das Experiment, dir. Oliver Hirschbiegel
GREECE: In Good Company, dir. Nikos Zapatinas
HONG KONG: Fulltime Killer, dirs. Johnnie To and Wai Ka Fai
HUNGARY: Abandoned, dir. Arpád Sopsits
ICELAND: The Seagull's Laughter, dir. Agust Gudmudsson
INDIA: Lagaan, dir. Ashutosh Gowariker
IRAN: Baran, dir. Majid Majidi
ISRAEL: Late Marriage, dir. Dover Kosashvilli
ITALY: The Son's Room, dir. Nanni Moretti
JAPAN: Go, dir. Yukisada Isao
KYRGYZSTAN: The Chimp, dir. Aktan Abdykalykov
MEXICO: Perfume De Violetas, dir. Maryse Sistach
THE NETHERLANDS: Nynke, dir. Pieter Verhoeff
NORWAY: Elling, dir. Peter Naess
THE PHILLIPINES: In the Bosom of the Enemy, dir. Gil M. Portes
POLAND: Quo Vadis, dir. Jerzy Kawalerowicz
PORTUGAL: Camarate, dir. Luis Filipe Rocha
PUERTO RICO: 12 Hours, dir. Raúl Marchand-Sánchez
RUSSIA: The Romanovs: An Imperial Family, dir. Gleb Panfilov
SLOVENIA: Bread and Milk, dir. Jan Cvitkovic
SPAIN: Mad Love, dir. Vicente Aranda
SWEDEN: Jalla! Jalla!, dir. Josef Fares
SWITZERLAND: L'éloge De L'Amour (In Praise of Love), dir. Jean-Luc Godard
TAIWAN: The Cabbie, dirs. Zhang Huakun & Chen Yiwen
TANZANIA: Maangamizi, dirs. Martin Mhando & Ron Mulvihill
THAILAND: The Moonhunter, dir. Ñbhandit Rittakol
TURKEY: Büyük Adam Küçük Ask / Hejar, dir. Handan Ipekça
UNITED KINGDOM: Do Not Go Gentle, dir. Emlyn Williams
URUGUAY: In this Tricky Life, dir. Beatriz Flores Silva
VENEZUELA: A House with a View of the Sea, dir. Alberto Arvelo
YUGOSLAVIA: War Live, dir. Darko Bajic