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Nik Xhelilaj in Artan Minarolli’s Alive! The 2010 edition of Los Angeles’ South-East European Film Festival kicks off this evening with a screening of Arnold Schwartzman’s one-minute "photo-documentary" The Wall, about the bit-by-bit destruction of the Berlin Wall, at 7 p.m. at the Goethe-Institut in the Mid-Wilshire Area. Schwartzman, the Oscar-winning director of the documentary feature Genocide (1982), will be present to introduce his film. The Wall will be immediately followed by an intriguing double-bill: the Us premiere of Boris Mitic’s Serbian documentary Goodbye, How Are You?, and the Los Angeles premiere of Artan Minarolli’s Albanian social-drama-cum-thriller Alive!. Minarolli will be present for a q&a after the screening. Mitic’s Goodbye, How Are You? is described as a quirky look back at the [...]...

Los Angeles’ 2010 South East European Film Festival highlights. (Above, Alive! director Artan Minarolli discusses films while at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival.) Film information from the See Fest’s press release: Goodbye, How Are You? (Dovidjenja, kako ste?), Serbia 2009, doc, 60 min. Directed by Boris Mitic. The cult filmmaker of Pretty Dyana (See Fest 2006) is back with a terrific documentary whose narrative comprises darkly satirical aphorisms and commentary on the lives and times of the Serbian people in the last two decades. The subversive genius of Balkan humor is in abundant evidence, matched with images of daily existence that are both funny and nihilistic. Alive! (Gjalle!), Albania 2009, feature, 90 min. Directed [...]...

Andrei Gruzsniczki’s The Other Irene with Andi Vasluianu looking for his missing wife (top); Nik Xhelilaj in Artan Minarolli’s Alive!, about Albanian blood feuds (upper middle); Igor Sterk’s 9:06, an unusual suicide case (lower middle); Maria Takacs‘ Secret Years featuring closeted lesbians during Communism (bottom) The 5th See Fest — Los Angeles’ South East European Film Festival — will take place at the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles and UCLA’s James Bridges Theatre from April 29 through May 3. According to its organizers, See Fest is the only festival in the United States dedicated to movies made in that (very, very) culturally diverse part of the world. [See Fest highlights] Among this year’s screening films are Artan Minarolli’s Alive!, an examination of the consequences [...]...

If you asked me what films I'd like to see in the final 5 tally, I would love to see the Academy embrace non-mainstream items such as the Romanian pic from Corneliu Porumboiu (Police, Adjective) and Bong Joon-ho's Mother (South Korea)... - Finally. With a disqualification here and there, the official list of countries competing for a nomination and then Oscar gold have been submitted and now its time to make some prognostications as to who among 65 will make the final five, or final three, since Sony Pictures Classics have a slam dunk in Palme d'or winner Haneke's The White Ribbon and Jacques Audiard's A Prophet - a "second place" winner at Cannes. If you asked me what films I'd like to see in the final 5 tally, I would love to see the Academy embrace non-mainstream items such as the Romanian pic from Corneliu Porumboiu (Police, Adjective) and...

The October 1st deadline for all countries wanting into the Academy Award's foreign-language film category has come and gone, but you wouldn't know it since no official list of films submitted has been published. - The October 1st deadline for all countries wanting into the Academy Award's foreign-language film category has come and gone, but you wouldn't know it since no official list of films submitted has been published. You could go tooth and nail on the web and film trades and you'd come up with nada, nothing, zero and zilch – and that goes for the official site. The Lemon of the Week goes to the Oscars for not publishing an official list, which sounds like a trivial complaint, but how difficult can it be for them to collect the titles, include the last minute additions and proudly issue a press release listing all participating nations/first round of nomination hopefuls.

From Albania to Vietnam, 65 countries are hoping that their film entries will get picked to fill one of the five slots for Best Foreign Language Film for the 82nd annual Academy Awards.

Five slots, 65 countries, the competition is fierce! Our friends from Variety gave us this list, is your country of choice one of the 65 hopefuls?

I'm happy that my home country, the Philippines, has a fighting chance with the dramedy "Ded na si Lolo" ("Grandpa is Dead"). Take a look at the complete list.

Albania

Alive!

(Artan Minarolli)

Synopsis: A carefree Albanian student gets drawn into an ancient blood feud when he returns home for a funeral, only to find himself a wanted man.

Awards: Belgrade Film Festival B2B development grant

Sales: Wildart Film

Argentina

El secreto de sus ojos

(Juan Jose Campanella)

Synopsis: An ambitious, complex work that combines two generation-spanning love stories, a noirish thriller, some...

It took them long enough, but the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences finally released the names of sixty-five contenders for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar this week. As many of the countries had already announced their submissions, there weren't any surprises on the list. However, as noted last week, the Academy hasn't had a good track record recently of selecting the most deserving nominees or winners for that matter. The most likely eventual nominees are bolded below. The final five will be announced on Oscar Nomination Tuesday, Feb 2, 2010. Albania, “Alive!,” Artan Minarolli, director Argentina,...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences unveiled the long list of 65 countries vying for a Best Foreign Language nomination Oscar.

Variety says that a shortlist of nine semi-finalists will be unveiled in January, with the complete nominees to be announced Feb. 2 along with the contenders in the other categories.

The Academy Awards will be presented March 7 at the Kodak Theater.

And now, from Albania to Vietnam, see the complete list right now (I.m proud that my home country of the Philippines has an entry!!!):

Albania, "Alive!," Artan Minarolli, director

Argentina, "El Secreto de Sus Ojos," Juan Jose Campanella, director

Armenia, "Autumn of the Magician," Rouben Kevorkov and Vaheh Kevorkov, directors

Australia, "Samson & Delilah," Warwick Thornton, director

Austria, "For a Moment Freedom," Arash T. Riahi, director

Bangladesh, "Beyond the Circle," Golam Rabbany Biplob, director

Belgium, "The Misfortunates," Felix van Groeningen, director

Bolivia, "Zona Sur," Juan Carlos Valdivia, director

Bosnia and Herzegovina,...

Jacques Audiard's French film "A Prophet," Michael Haneke's German film "The White Ribbon" and Korea's "Mother" -- three films that have figured prominently on this year's festival circuit -- are among the 65 films being considered for the foreign-language film Oscar.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released its list Thursday of the 65 countries that have submitted films for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards.

Nominations will be announced on Feb. 2, and the awards ceremony will be held March 7.

The 2009 submissions follow (click the links on select countries for full stories):

Albania, "Alive!," Artan Minarolli, director;

Argentina, "El Secreto de Sus Ojos," Juan Jose Campanella

Armenia, "Autumn of the Magician," Rouben Kevorkov and Vaheh Kevorkov

Australia, "Samson & Delilah," Warwick Thornton

Austria, "For a Moment Freedom," Arash T. Riahi

Bangladesh, "Beyond the Circle," Golam Rabbany Biplob

Belgium, "The Misfortunates," Felix van Groeningen

Bolivia, "Zona Sur," Juan Carlos Valdivia

Bosnia and Herzegovina,...

Sixty-five countries have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 82nd Academy Awards®, Academy President Tom Sherak announced today. The 2009 submissions are: Albania, Alive! , Artan Minarolli, director; Argentina, El Secreto de Sus Ojos , Juan Jose Campanella, director; Armenia, Autumn of the Magician , Rouben Kevorkov and Vaheh Kevorkov, directors; Australia, Samson & Delilah , Warwick Thornton, director; Austria, For a Moment Freedom , Arash T. Riahi, director; Bangladesh, Beyond the Circle , Golam Rabbany Biplob, director; Belgium, The Misfortunates , Felix van Groeningen, director; Bolivia, Zona Sur , Juan Carlos Valdivia, director; Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nightguards , Namik Kabil, director; Brazil, Time of Fear ,...

The October 1st deadline for all countries wanting into the Academy Award's foreign-language film category has come and gone. According to IndieWIRE [1], The United Kingdom, which has predominantly submitted Welsh films over the years (if submitting at all), has surprisingly chosen the documentary Afghan Star as its 2009 submission for the Academy Awards. The last time the country received a nomination in this category was in 1999, when Paul Morrison's Welsh and Yiddish Solomon and Gaenor lost out to Pedro Almodovar's All About My Mother. Synopsis After 30 years of war and Taliban rule, pop Idol has come to Afghanistan. Millions are watching the TV series 'Afghan Star' and voting for their favorite singers by mobile phone. For many this is their first encounter with democracy. This timely film follows the dramatic stories of four contestants as they risk all to become the nation's favorite singer. But will they...