Try again next year…

With the rather lacklustre Golden Globes out of the way (who turned Ricky Gervais down to a medium simmer?) the entertainment community is now waiting eagerly for next week’s Oscar nominations announcement from the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Meanwhile, the Academy Awards Best Foreign Film shortlist of nine was dropped late yesterday, and we’re sad to report that South Africa’s hopeful entrant, Oliver Hermanus’ gripping Afrikaans drama, Skoonheid (trailer here), hasn’t made the cut. It received great reviews locally and on the festival circuit, and it was hoped would repeat South Africa’s Oscar glory in 2005 when Gavin Hood’s Tsotsi won the gong for Best Foreign Film, but alas, no.

The foreign films that did make the list are:

• Asghar Farhadi’s Critics’ Choice and Golden Globe-winning domestic drama A Separation (Iran),
• Agnieszka Holland’s Holocaust drama: In Darkness (Poland),
• Joseph Cedar’s Talmudic exploration: Footnote (Israel),
• Philippe Falardeau’s dramedy: Monsieur Lazhar (Canada),
• Wim Wenders’ 3D dance documentary: Pina (Germany).
• Michael R. Roskam’s crime-drama: Bullhead (Belgium),
• Ole Christian Madsen’s light comedy: SuperClasico (Denmark),
• Roschdy Zem’s social conscience flick: Omar Killed Me (Morocco)
• Wei Te-sheng’s two-part epic: Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale (Taiwan).

Odds to win are currently in favour of A Separation, given it scored an award at the Golden Globes. The Academy Award Committee will screen all nine films this weekend and decide on a final five before the whole list of Oscar nominations is dropped next Tuesday.

Here’s the trailer for A Separation:

[Source: News24, The Hollywood Reporter]