ACADEMY AWARDS- Nominating foreign films changes (no official language, prohibit English entries)

AP via Columbus Dispatch ^ | Wednesday, July 05, 2006 | No byline

[weegee]

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has changed the way it chooses nominees for best foreign-language film and eliminated a rule requiring entries to be in the official language of the submitting country.

The academy’s governors approved a new process in judging foreign-language films, allowing New York-area academy members to participate in the selection for the first time, according to a statement issued last week.

A shortlist of films from nine countries will be chosen by the same Los Angeles screening committee that has traditionally viewed the approximately 60 submissions.

That shortlist will then be screened by a second committee made up of 10 randomly selected members of the original committee, 10 Los Angeles-area members not on the original committee and 10 New York-area members.

Nominees will be chosen by the second committee.

In another change, entries submitted in the category no longer must be in the official language of the country submitting the film. As long as the dominant language is not English, a picture from any country may be in any language or combination of languages.

Last year, Italy’s initial selection — Private, directed and written by Saverio Costanzo — was ruled ineligible because its dialogue was mostly in Arabic and Hebrew. Bruce Davis, the academy’s executive director, said Private qualified for the foreign-language category "in every other way except one: There was no Italian language in it."

"The rules clearly prohibited that, but the situation didn’t seem fair to us," Davis said.

"So if the Taiwanese want to send us a picture with exclusively Portuguese dialogue this year, we’re ready for them."

[weegee]

England and Australia need not apply for best "foreign" film.

Meanwhile someone should educated that some countries, like the U.S., HAVE NO OFFICIAL LANGUAGE.

[tallhappy]

England and Australia need not apply for best "foreign" film.

Because it is foreign language film.

[weegee]

It is commonly referred to by the news agencies as "best foreign film", not foreign language film.

It is for foreign films (Mel Gibson's The Passion was ineligible for this category) but they scope that for non-English films. Odd stipulation that the film must be in something non-English yet have accurate English subtitles.

"A foreign language film is defined, for Academy Award purposes, as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States of America with a predominantly non-English dialogue track. [snip} Accurate English subtitles are required."

As English usage in America continues to fall, perhaps we WILL permit best foreign language film to be of domestic production.

I still assert that this category discriminates against "Anglo" nations.