Thaindian News

BEVERLEY HILLS (BNO NEWS) – Nine films advance to the next round of voting in the Foreign Language Film category for the 82nd Academy Awards, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced on Wednesday.

Sixty-five films had originally qualified in the category, and several hundred Los Angeles-based members screened the films and chose their top choices.

The nine remaining films will be narrowed down to the five nominees by specially invited committees in New York and Los Angeles. They will spend Friday, January 29, through Sunday, January 31, viewing three films each day and then casting their ballots. The nominations will be announced on Tuesday, February 2 in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theatre.

The films, to be screened for nominees, are as follows:

Argentina, “El Secreto de Sus Ojos,” Juan Jose Campanella, director;

Australia, “Samson & Delilah,” Warwick Thornton, director;

Bulgaria, “The World Is Big and Salvation Lurks around the Corner,” Stephan Komandarev, director;

France, “Un Prophète,” Jacques Audiard, director;

Germany, “The White Ribbon,” Michael Haneke, director;

Israel, “Ajami,” Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani, directors;

Kazakhstan, “Kelin,” Ermek Tursunov, director;

The Netherlands, “Winter in Wartime,” Martin Koolhoven, director;

Peru, “The Milk of Sorrow,” Claudia Llosa, director.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2009 will be presented on Sunday, March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center. They will be televised live by ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world’s preeminent and ubiquitous movie-related organization, with a membership of more than 6,000 of the most accomplished men and women working in cinema.