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Papamichael is known for working as a cinematographer on films including ‘Sideways’ and ‘Nebraska’.

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (Poff) has selected 15 films for the second year of its Critics’ Picks competitive section, including the world premiere of Light Falls from acclaimed cinematographer Phedon Papamichael.

Greek filmmaker Papamichael’s film is a thriller about a young couple vacationing on a Greek island, who suffer an accident when exploring an abandoned hotel.

Scroll down for the full list of Poff Critics’ Picks

The film is a Georgian-Albanian-Greek-German co-production, with dialogue in English, Albanian, Georgian and Greek. It is Papamichael’s first...

2019 Foreign Language Film Oscar Submissions Algeria – Until The End Of Time – Yasmine Chouikh Argentina– The Angel (El Angel) – Luis Ortega Austria – The Waldheim Waltz – Ruth Beckermann Belarus – Crystal Swan – Darya Zhuk Belgium – Girl – Lukas Dhont Bolivia – Muralla – Rodrigo Patiño Bosnia – Never Leave Me – Aida Begic Brazil – The Great Mystical Circus – Carlos Diegues Bulgaria – Omnipresent – Ilian Djevelekov Cambodia – Graves Without A Name – Rithy Pan Canada – Watch Dog – Sophie Dupuis Chile – And Suddenly The Dawn – Silvio Caiozzi Colombia– Birds of Passage, Cristina Gallego & Ciro Guerra Croatia – The Eighth Commissioner – Ivan Salaj Czech Republic – Winter Flies – Olmo Omerzu Denmark – The Guilty – Gustav Möller Dominican Republic – Cocote – Nelson Carlo de los Santos Ecuador – A Son Of Man – Jamaicanoproblem and Pablo Agüero Egypt – Yomeddine – Abu Bakr Shawky Estonia – Take It Or Leave It – Liina Trishkina-Vanhatalo Finland – Euthanizer – Teemu Nikin France – Memoir Of War – Emmanuel Finkiel Georgia – Namme – Zaza Khalvashi Germany – Never Look Away – Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck...

Argentina has selected Luis Ortega’s well-received Cannes Film Festival crime drama The Angel (El Angel) as its contender for the Foreign Language Oscar. The film, produced by Pedro Almodóvar, broke box office records in its home country; The Orchard acquired U.S. rights after its Un Certain Regard bow and has set a November 9 theatrical release in New York and Los Angeles for the film before rolling it out nationally.

The pic from Ortega, who directed and co-wrote with Sergio Olguin and Rodolfo Palacios, is a portrait based on Argentina’s real-life serial killer dubbed “The Angel of Death.” The pic picks up the story when Carlitos (Lorenzo Ferro), a 17-year-old with movie star swagger, blond curls and a baby face in 1970s Buenos Aires, meets Ramon (Chino Darín) who embark on a journey of discovery, love and murder. When he is finally caught, the press dubs Carlitos “The...

Italy has chosen Matteo Garrone’s well-received Cannes drama Dogman as its Foreign Language Oscar hopeful.

Marcello Fonte stars as Marcello, a gentle dog groomer who finds himself involved in a dangerous relationship with Simone (Edoardo Pesce), a former violent boxer who terrorizes the entire neighbourhood. In an effort to reaffirm his dignity, Marcello must submit to an unexpected act of vengeance. Fonte won the Best Actor prize at Cannes.

Garrone’s Archimede produced alongside Rai Cinema’s Paolo Del Brocco, Le Pacte’s Jean Labadie, and Recorded Picture Company’s Jeremy Thomas. Magnolia has U.S. rights. Garrone’s previous credits include Gomorrah, Reality and Tale Of Tales, all of which played at Cannes.

Italy has been the most successful country in the Academy’s Foreign Language category, scoring 14 wins and 31 nominations. The country’s last nomination and win in the category came in 2013 with Paolo Sorrentino’s The Great Beauty.

Poland has chosen Pawel Pawlikowski’s Cannes-winning black and white drama Cold War as its Oscar submission for Best Foreign Language Film.

The well-reviewed story of a fated Polish love affair set across Europe during the late 1950s and early 1960s, is among the favorites for the prize. It is Pawlikowski’s first film since 2014 pic Ida, which won the Foreign Language Oscar. Amazon will release stateside on Dec. 21.

“Cold War — artistically fulfilled, universal story of impossible love, inscribed in the turbulent history of 20th century Poland,” the Polish Oscar Committee stated in a press release. “Pawel Pawlikowski’s film captivates with its performance, excellent acting and unique use of Polish folk music motifs. The previous successes of the film on the international arena will certainly help in further promotional activities.”

Also entering the fray this week are Dante Lam’s blockbuster Operation Red Sea for Hong Kong, Rima Das’s Village Rockstars for India,...

France has selected Emmanuel Finkiel’s Memoir of War as its official selection for the Oscars’ Foreign Language film race. The pic, which Finkiel adapted from Marguerite Duras’ semi-autobiographical 1944 novel set in Nazi-occupied Paris, stars Mélanie Thierry in a story of love, loss, and perseverance against the backdrop of war.

Music Box Films holds U.S. rights to Memoir of War and released it in theaters last month.

The film came out on top on a shortlist that included Gaspar Noé’s Cannes buzz title Climax, the late Claude Lanzmann’s Les Quatre Sœurs, Mademoiselle De Joncquières by Emmanuel Mouret, and Xavier Legrand’s Jusqu’à La Garde. The choice was finalized today by France’s National Film Center (Cnc), which said the film, known in France as La Douleur (The Pain), has seen 350,00 submissions in French theaters.

The plot centers on Duras (Thierry) who is is an active...

Updated with additional release date info: Gustav Möller’s The Guilty, which won this year’s Sundance Film Festival World Cinema Audience Award, has been selected by Denmark as the country’s official entry into the Oscar Foreign Language Film race.

The thriller, Möller’s directorial debut, was acquired by Magnolia Pictures in Park City and is hitting U.S. theaters October 19 in 25 markets. It next screens at Fantastic Fest which launches today.

The film centers on a police officer (Jakob Cedergren), who, when demoted to desk work, expects a sleepy beat as an emergency dispatcher. That changes when he answers a panicked phone call from a kidnapped woman who then disconnects abruptly. Confined to the police station, he is forced to use others as his eyes and ears as the severity of the crime slowly becomes more clear, with all the action set in his single location.

Denmark has...

Screen’s regularly updated list of foreign language Oscar submissions.

Nominations for the 91st Academy Awards are not until Tuesday January 22, but the first submissions for best foreign-language film are now being announced.

Last year saw a record 92 submissions for the award, which were narrowed down to a shortlist of nine. This was cut to five nominees, with Sebastián Lelio’s transgender drama A Fantastic Woman ultimately taking home the gold statue.

Screen’s interview with Mark Johnson, chair of the Academy’s foreign-language film committee, explains the shortlisting process from submission to voting.

Submitted films must be released theatrically...

Nadine Labaki’s “Capernaum,” the winner of the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, has been selected by Lebanon as its candidate for the upcoming foreign-language Oscar race.

“Capernaum,” which was acquired by Sony Pictures Classics ahead of its world premiere at Cannes, features mostly non-professional actors and tells the story of a 12-year-old boy, Zein, who takes his parents to court “for giving me life” in a world of pain and suffering.

“Capernaum” was written by Labaki, along with Jihad Hojeily, Michelle Kesrouani, Georges Khabbaz and Labaki’s husband, Khaled Mouzanar, who also produced the film and composed the music. The movie opens in Lebanon on Thursday. Sony Pictures Classics will release it in the U.S. on Dec. 14. Spc had previously handled “Where Do We Go Now?”, Labaki’s 2011 film.

In its review, Variety said “Capernaum” tackled its subject matter “with intelligence and heart,” and called Labaki...

Nadine Labaki’s critical hit Capernaum, which was snapped up by Sony Classics in May, has been selected as Lebanon’s Foreign Language Oscar submission.

The Cannes Jury Prize winner, directed by Nadine Labaki, focuses on a 12-year-old boy in a fictitious Middle Eastern village who sues his parents for bringing him into a world of such suffering. The film features mostly non-professional actors. This year, The Insult by Ziad Doueiri won Lebanon’s first ever Academy Award nomination.

Also entering the Foreign Language race this week have been Brazil, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Pakistan, Thailand and Indonesia. Below is the full list of submissions to date.

2019 Foreign Language Film Oscar Submissions Algeria – Until The End Of Time – Yasmine Chouikh Austria – The Waldheim Waltz – Ruth Beckermann Belarus – Crystal Swan – Darya Zhuk Belgium – Girl – Lukas Dhont Bolivia – Muralla – Rodrigo Patiño Bosnia – Never Leave Me – Aida Begic Brazil – The Great Mystical Circus – Carlos Diegues...

Slovenia has selected Ivan, directed by Janez Burger, for best foreign-language film Oscar consideration.

Ivan is focused on Mara, a young woman caught amid a violent corruption affair and forced to make an impossible choice between the man she obsessively loves and her newborn son, Ivan.

In September 2017, the film swept the Slovenian Film Festival, taking eight prizes, including best film, best screenplay, best cinematography and best actress for female lead Marusa Majer. It went on to be screened at a number of other festivals, including Pula Film Festival and Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.

Ivan is Burger's fifth feature....

Slovenia has selected Ivan, directed by Janez Burger, for best foreign-language film Oscar consideration.

Ivan is focused on Mara, a young woman caught amid a violent corruption affair and forced to make an impossible choice between the man she obsessively loves and her newborn son, Ivan.

In September 2017, the film swept the Slovenian Film Festival, taking eight prizes, including best film, best screenplay, best cinematography and best actress for female lead Marusa Majer. It went on to be screened at a number of other festivals, including Pula Film Festival and Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.

Ivan is Burger's fifth feature....

Exclusive: Lgbt road movie goes to Optimale; Slingshot Films picks up Ivan.

UK-based Wavelength Pictures has sold all rights for French-speaking territories to Optimale for You Can’t Escape Lithuania, the second feature by Lithuania’s openly gay filmmaker Romas Zabarauskas.

The Lgbt road movie – which was also co-produced by Wavelength’s John Flahive – had been presented as a work in progress at last year’s Meeting Point Vilnius (Mpv) during the Vilnius International Festival and was released theatrically in Lithuania in November.

Mpv’s head of industry Rita Stanelyte revealed that this year’s work in progress section this April will be casting its nets further to include all Central and Eastern European countries after previously focusing on the Baltic states and the Eastern Partnership countries from the former Soviet Union

Further pick-ups

Elsewhere, Manuela Buono’s Trieste-based sales company Slingshot Films has picked up Slovenian filmmaker Janez Burger’s latest feature Ivan, starring one of...

★★★☆☆A charming slice of magical realism, Janez Burger's Silent Sonata (2010) comes cartwheeling into UK cinemas this week having first screened at the 2011 Rotterdam Film Festival. The narrative concerns a grieving family caught in the middle of an unnamed Eastern European conflict, as well as their chance crossing of paths with the travelling Circus Fantasticus. This band of performers alleviate the suffering - both of the family and, extrapolated, the nation - with a strain of farcical comedy sure to raise a smile from even the most wary viewers. Whilst not entirely successful, it offers a dose of enchanting whimsy to soothe the troubled soul, and all without uttering a word.

Yesterday the Academy finally released the full list of 2012 Foreign Language Oscar contenders adding four films I did not have on my previous list from the Dominican Republic, Indonesia, United Kingdom and a mysterious title I can't find anything about from Kazakhstan and now that the short list has been announced and everyone has posted the Academy's press release it's like searching for a needle in a haystack if you go looking for more information on it. That said, if anyone has a link to any information on Egor Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky's Returning to the 'A' I would love to share it as I have links and information for all other 62 films submitted for consideration. As I said in my last post addressing the category, I haven't seen any of these films, a rarity for me, but based on buzz the top contenders would seem to include Zhang Yimou's The War of Flowers,...

Update: The total is now 60 films as Steve Pond at The Wrap informs us the Domenican Republic's submission La hija natural has been accepted. He also says we should expect four or five more films to be added to the list by the time things are said and done. My original post follows...

The deadline for countries to submit films for consideration at this year's Oscars was Monday, October 3 and this year's list is a little lighter than last (so far) as 60 countries have offered up submissions compared to 66 last year and 67 the year before that. Looking over the complete list, which I have included directly below and can always be viewed in my "The Contenders" section right here, there are a few that stand out based on what I've heard, but then again, this is the first year I can ever remember where I haven't seen a single one of the entries.

For the Sales Agent stationed in the Netherlands, 2011 could be considered an off year with only two titles (Leila Kilani's Sur La Planche and Corman's World gets some replay value) in Cannes. Put they have a solid selection of Asian titles in the pipeline and two Brit titles in Kevin MacDonald's Marley and Michel Winterbottom's The Promised Land which we look forward to with much anticipation. Here are some features to watch out for. Cairo 678 by Mohamed Diab - Completed Come Rain, Come Shine by Yoon-Ki Lee - Completed Mama Africa by Mika KAURISMÄKI - Completed Corman’S World: Exploits Of A Hollywood Rebel by Alex Stapleton - Completed Jiro Dreams Of Sushi by David Gelb - Completed Last Romance by Yonfan - Completed Magic Trip by Alex Gibney - Completed Silent Sonata by Janez Burger - Completed Sur La Planche by Leila Kilani - Completed Vampire by...

If the Croisette belonged to Sony Pictures Classics and IFC Films, then Park City is where Searchlight, Focus, Apparition, Roadside, Samuel Goldwyn and Magnolia get to have a piece of the cake. If my predictions are half right, then this year's Sundance will have a unusually high number of titles with A list talent for sale. - If the Croisette belonged to Sony Pictures Classics and IFC Films, then Park City is where Searchlight, Focus, Apparition, Roadside, Samuel Goldwyn and Magnolia get to have a piece of the cake. If my predictions are half right, then this year's Sundance will have a unusually high number of titles with A list talent for sale. The market trend right now is far from the heyday of all night negotiation days after a film's premiere, but I wouldn't be surprised to see some titles get picked up for some impressive numbers during and not after the fest.

We'll find out the exact line-up soon enough and I'll see just how my predictions pan out for the upcoming edition of Sundance. - We'll find out the exact line-up soon enough and I'll see just how my predictions pan out for the upcoming edition of Sundance. For practicality reasons, here is a quick listing, I've included the titles below and if you want to familiarize yourself with the projects, you can go back and check out last week's brief summaries: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, Part IX. Would be surprised if these weren't at the festival:...

NEW YORK -- Sundance Institute and NHK have named 12 finalists for the 2008 Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Award.

One winner each from Europe, Latin America, the U.S. and Japan will win $10,000 and an acquisition of Japanese TV broadcast rights from NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) upon completion of their projects.

The nominated emerging filmmakers and projects from Europe are Janez Burger's Slovenian war drama "Circus Fantasticus", Radu Jude's Romanian family drama "The Happiest Girl In the World" and Jasmila Zbanic's Bosnian/ Herzegovinan relationship study "On The Path".

The Latin American nominees are Alejandro Fernandez Almendras' Chilean family drama "Huacho", Paz Fabrega's Costa Rican existential study "Agua Fria de Mar" and Juliana Rojas & Marco Dutra's Brazilian thriller "Hard Labor".

The U.S. entries are Braden King's road movie "Here", Jake Mahaffy's tale of redemption "Free in Deed" and the coming of age drama "Refresh, Refresh" from director James Ponsoldt (ThinkFilm's "Off The Black").

The Japanese nominees are Akira Ichinose's mystery drama "Lamplight and Shadows", Yukihiko Goto's portrait of an elderly man "Three Cold Days and Four Warm Days" and Aiko Nagatsu's tale of loss "Apoptosis".

The four winners will be selected by a jury of filmmakers and announced at the Sundance Film Festival in January.