2011 83rd Academy Awards Best Foreign Language Film Oscar Submissions
The deadline for all countries to send in their submissions was October 1, 2010. The submitted motion pictures must be first released theatrically in their respective countries between October 1, 2009, and September 30, 2010.
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- DirectorSusanne BierStarsMikael PersbrandtTrine DyrholmMarkus RygaardThe lives of two Danish families cross each other, and an extraordinary but risky friendship comes into bud. But loneliness, frailty and sorrow lie in wait.75 (5), Winner, Denmark
- DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsLubna AzabalMélissa Désormeaux-PoulinMaxim GaudetteTwins journey to the Middle East to discover their family history and fulfill their mother's last wishes.85 (5), Nominee, Canada
- DirectorYorgos LanthimosStarsChristos StergioglouMichele ValleyAngeliki PapouliaA controlling, manipulative father locks his three adult offsprings in a state of perpetual childhood by keeping them prisoner within the sprawling family compound.80 (5), Nominee, Greece
- DirectorAlejandro G. IñárrituStarsJavier BardemMaricel ÁlvarezHanaa BouchaibA man dying of cancer tries his best to leave the world on his own terms.70 (5), Nominee, Mexico
- DirectorRachid BoucharebStarsJamel DebbouzeRoschdy ZemSami BouajilaA drama about the Algerian struggle for independence from France after WWII.68 (4), Nominee, Algeria
- DirectorTetsuya NakashimaStarsTakako MatsuYoshino KimuraMasaki OkadaA psychological thriller of a grieving mother turned cold-blooded avenger with a twisty master plan to pay back those who were responsible for her daughter's death.87 (3), January Shortlist, Japan
- DirectorOliver SchmitzStarsKhomotso ManyakaKeaobaka MakanyaneHarriet LenabeA touching mother-daughter relationship that reflects the modern South Africa.74 (5), January Shortlist, South Africa
- DirectorIcíar BollaínStarsGael García BernalLuis TosarKarra ElejaldeAs a director and his crew shoot a controversial film about Christopher Columbus in Cochabamba, Bolivia, local people rise up against plans to privatize the water supply.74 (4), January Shortlist, Spain
- DirectorAndreas ÖhmanStarsBill SkarsgårdMartin WallströmCecilia ForssA younger brother with Aspergers syndrome helps his older brother find a girlfriend.71 (1), January Shortlist, Sweden
- DirectorXavier BeauvoisStarsLambert WilsonMichael LonsdaleOlivier RabourdinUnder threat by fundamentalist terrorists, a group of Trappist monks stationed with an impoverished Algerian community must decide whether to leave or stay.84 (5), France
- DirectorXiaogang FengStarsDaoming ChenChen LiYi LuThe epic story of a family separated as a result of the Great Tangshan Earthquake of 1976.82 (3), China
- DirectorJavier Fuentes-LeónStarsCristian MercadoTatiana AstengoManolo CardonaAn unusual ghost story set on the Peruvian seaside; a married fisherman struggles to reconcile his devotion to his male lover within his town's rigid traditions.80 (5), Peru
- DirectorApichatpong WeerasethakulStarsThanapat SaisaymarJenjira PongpasSakda KaewbuadeeDying of kidney disease, a man spends his last, somber days with family, including the ghost of his wife and a forest spirit who used to be his son, on a rural northern Thailand farm.79 (5), Thailand
- DirectorJoonas BerghällMika HotakainenStarsTimo AaltoPekka AhonenAarne AksilaFinnish men in sauna, speaking straight from the heart.80 (1), Finland
- DirectorFeo AladagStarsSibel KekilliNizam SchillerDerya AlaboraUmay is a young woman of Turkish descent, fighting for an independent and self-determined life in Germany against her family's resistance. Her struggle initiates a dynamic that results in a life-threatening situation.75 (5), Germany
- DirectorLevan KoguashviliStarsGuga KotetishviliIrakli RamishviliGiorgi KipshidzeA drug addict is being threatened by jail if he doesn't set up his childhood friend's son.78 (1), Georgia
- DirectorSemih KaplanogluStarsBora AltasErdal BesikçiogluTülin ÖzenThe quiet life of a boy and his family is endangered when his father does not return home from his work collecting honey in the forest.77 (3), Turkey
- DirectorAlex LawStarsSimon YamSandra Kwan Yue NgAarif LeeThe ups and downs of a Hong Kong family and their shoe shop as seen through the eyes of their eccentric eight-year-old son.77 (2), Hong Kong
- DirectorAnusha RizviMahmood FarooquiStarsOnkar Das ManikpuriRaghubir YadavShalini VatsaAn impoverished farmer's threat to end his life invites attention from politicians and media.74 (4), India
- DirectorPablo TraperoStarsRicardo DarínFederico SilvaCristian De AsísAn ambulance chaser/carancho falls for an ER/ambulance doctor, he meets one night "at work" in Buenos Aires.74 (4), Argentina
- DirectorDoze NiuStarsEthan JuanMark You-Ting ChaoJu-Lung MaSet in 1980s Taiwan after the end of military dictatorship, Monga centers around the troubled lives of five boys coming of age together. The narrator of the story, Mosquito, is invited to be a part of the gang after a silly fight over a chicken leg. Mosquito grew up without a father and has never had any real friends, so after Monk, Dragon, and the others take him under their wing, he discovers an irresistible world of friendship and brotherhood. However, Mosquito soon learns that in this violent world things aren't always what they seem. When a group of mainlanders attempts to take over Monga, the fragile balance of the district's turf is threatened, friendship is tested, and loyalty is questioned.75 (2), Taiwan
- DirectorPaolo VirzìStarsValerio MastandreaMicaela RamazzottiStefania SandrelliA misanthropic professor returns to his hometown to assist his dying mother.73 (4), Italy
- DirectorStéphanie ChuatVéronique ReymondStarsFlorence Loiret CailleMichel BouquetÉric CaravacaOne day, a bad fall forces Edmond to accept Rose's help. Eventually, the two grow closer. The young woman finds relief in confiding painful memories to the older man; things she cannot even bring herself to tell her husband. Meanwhile, Edmond, too, opens up, sharing recollections of his beloved wife.74 (2), Switzerland
- DirectorEran RiklisStarsMark IvanirGuri AlfiNoah SilverA tragi-comedy centered on the HR manager of Israel's largest industrial bakery, who sets out to save the reputation of his business and prevent the publication of a defamatory article.70 (4), Israel
- DirectorDanis TanovicStarsPredrag 'Miki' ManojlovicMira FurlanBoris LerA story set in the former Yugoslavia and centered on a guy who returns to Herzegovina from Germany with plenty of cash and hopes for a good new life.70 (3), Bosnia and Herzegovina
- DirectorTae-gyun KimStarsKo Chang-seokGabriel Da CostaJunior Da CostaAfter a series of pipe dream ventures go belly up, retired pro soccer player Kim Won-kang happens to visit East Timor, where he finds children playing the game barefoot on rocky pitches. Sensing a new business opportunity on finding the country doesn't have a single sporting goods store, he embarks on a scheme to get rich quick by purveying athletic shoes to the unshod youngsters. Sadly, no one there can afford to pay $60 for a pair of shoes, even on a generous installment plan, and before he knows it, he is reduced to coaching a team of ragged 10-year-olds and prospects are looking grim.71 (1), South Korea
- DirectorFlorin SerbanStarsGeorge PistereanuAda CondeescuMihai ConstantinTwo weeks before his release, a teenage prisoner learns that his mother has returned home. Meanwhile, he finds himself in love with a student working in the penitentiary as an intern.67 (3), Romania
- DirectorMargreth OlinStarsMaria BonnevieGunilla RöörAntti ReiniAs the film opens, a doped-up Lea (Maria Bonnevie) makes an extremely bad impression on her baby daughter's foster parents; later, flashbacks reveal her disturbing youth and young adulthood. From the wrong side of the tracks, Lea grows up in a small house on the edge of the forest. When her father dies, her fragile mother Madelene takes up with the jealous alcoholic Ole. Unable to prevent Madelene from being beaten, Lea winds up as a substance abuser.68 (1), Norway
- DirectorTizza CoviRainer FrimmelStarsPatrizia GerardiTairo CaroliWalter SaabelA circus woman and her husband find a two year old girl in the trailer park where they are living. With the help of another child, they search for her mother.67 (2), Austria
- DirectorOlivier Masset-DepasseStarsAnne CoesensAlexandre GontcharovMilo Masset-DepasseA single mother of a thirteen-year-old boy from Belarus seeks refuge in Belgium with dreams of a better life, but instead, she will be incarcerated and separated from her son, risking deportation.64 (3), Belgium
- DirectorJoão Pedro RodriguesStarsChandra MalatitchJohn Jesus RomãoIvo BarrosoA transgender woman tries to erase any past history of herself as a male. Struggling with a young male lover and a problematic son.63 (3), Portugal
- DirectorMarcel RasquinStarsFernando MorenoEliú ArmasAlí RondónTwo young men who have been raised as brothers look to their soccer skills as a way of getting out of their slum. While a scout is in town, an act of violence threatens to tear them apart.64 (2), Venezuela
- DirectorDavey FrankelRasselas LakewStarsRasselas LakewDag MalmbergRuta GedmintasRunning the streets of Rome in 1960, an unknown, barefooted Ethiopian man stunned the world by winning Olympic gold in the marathon. Overnight, Abebe Bikila became a sports legend. A hero in his own country and to the continent, Bikila was the first African to win a gold medal, and four years later in Tokyo would become the first person in history to win consecutive Olympic gold medals in the marathon. This soldier and quiet son of a shepherd would be acknowledged by many as the greatest long distance runner the world had ever known. One evening while returning to his home in Addis Ababa from training in the Ethiopian countryside, Bikila was involved in a tragic car accident which left him paralyzed from the waist down. Unable to walk and faced with the greatest challenge of his life, he struggled to maintain his will to live and in the process discovered a deeper meaning of competition, taking up archery for the Paralympics and competing as a handicapped dog sledder in Norway. Though his running career had come to a tragic end, the race of his life had a new beginning. For the first time, the true story of Bikila's epic quest for life and sport comes to the big screen. Not since Raging Bull has the life of an athlete been rendered with such emotional power and cinematic grace.48 (2), Ethiopia
- DirectorSonia Nassery ColeStarsHaji Gul AserSonia Nassery ColeLeo SolomonThe Mansouri family opens up a new restaurant after the fall of the Taliban in Kabul, Afghanistan only to be subsequently targeted by factional Taliban elements.45 (3), Afghanistan
- DirectorKamen KalevStarsChristo ChristovOvanes TorosianSaadet AksoyThrough Georgi (a juvenile) and Itso (an adult), we take a quick glance (about one and a half hour quick) at what happens in post cold-war Bulgaria.Bulgaria
- DirectorSzabolcs HajduStarsOrsolya Török-IllyésOana PelleaRazvan VasilescuIn order to regain custody of her daughter, whom she left in the care of her fortune-telling aunt, Mona must tell a social worker her story. The tale she spins---and the movie we watch---is a wild, surreal adventure in which people are able to project and enter each other's dreams, and our heroine is sold into slavery and lands in a swank, debauched Liverpool brothel where the patrons enact their literary/sexual fantasies with Lolita, St. Joan, and Desdemona. Rendered with dazzling tracking shots, striking CGI effects and a pulsing soundtrack, Hungarian director Szabolcs Hajdu's risk-taking fantasia has style to spare. But under the seductive surface lurks the very human story of a woman who uses fantasy to cushion the pain of life.Hungary
- DirectorJacek BorcuchStarsMateusz KosciukiewiczOlga FryczJakub GierszalFollows four friends in their quest to form a punk band. As workers protests sweep across the country, Janek and Staszek, the sons of a navy man, the rebellious Kazik, and the affluent Diabel gel as a band, but their disparate lives are touched by social turmoil and outside perceptions.Poland
- DirectorMatías BizeStarsSantiago CabreraBlanca LewinVíctor MonteroAndrés returns to Santiago after several years to face a tragic event.Chile
- DirectorAleksey UchitelStarsVladimir MashkovAnjorka StrechelYuliya PeresildIn 1945, Soviet war hero Ignat is sent to work as a locomotive mechanic in a Siberian labor camp where he meets an assortment of Germans and Russians.Russia
- DirectorRudolf van den BergStarsGijs Scholten van AschatSylvia HoeksJohanna ter SteegeA laid-off book editor sets out to find his teenage daughter when she and her boyfriend go missing on holiday in Namibia.Netherlands
- DirectorMohamed Al DaradjiStarsShazada HusseinYasser TalibBashir Al MajidA willful young boy follows his just as obstinate grandmother in a journey across Iraq, determined to discover the fate of her missing son, Ahmed's father, who never returned from war.Iraq
- DirectorDaoud Abdel SayedStarsAsser YassinBasmaMayy KassabA man witnesses the drastic changes in society as he goes back to the Alexandria of his youth.Egypt
- DirectorVeiko ÕunpuuStarsTaavi EelmaaRavshana KurkovaTiina TauraiteA mid-level manager who develops an aversion to being "good" finds himself confronting the mysteries of middle-age and morality as he loses grasp of what was once his quiet life.Estonia
- DirectorMilcho ManchevskiStarsEmilija StojkovskaMilijana BogdanoskaDime IlijevTwo nine-year-old girls report a flasher to the police even though they never saw him. Three filmmakers meet the only residents of a deserted village - an elderly brother and sister who have not spoken to each other in 16 years. Retired cleaning women are found raped and strangled in a small town. The fiction slowly turns into a documentary.Macedonia
- DirectorSrdjan KaranovicStarsPredrag 'Miki' ManojlovicIva KrajncRadivoje BukvicAt the very beginning of the World War I, Filip, a Serb and the principal of a gymnasium in a small Serbian town, is summoned urgently to Belgrade to serve in the war effort. He has no one to leave his wife Lea with. She is a young and pretty Slovenian woman, a teacher of rhythmics and dance he met while studying in Western Europe. Azem, an illiterate, patriarchal Albanian, the school custodian, gives Filip his solemn oath, his 'Besa' (in the Albanian tradition: when someone gives their word which must be kept even if they lose their life in the process) that he would look after Lea and see to it that nothing happened to her. Two Europeans, from two entirely different cultures and habits are forced to an awkward cohabitation in the empty school. While the war rages in the background and gets menacingly closer, their interaction develops from hatred, through intolerance, to tolerance and an unusual friendship. Circumstances gradually draw Lea and Azem, a Christian woman and a Muslim man, into a complex forbidden relationship - something like love! More than merely a romantic story, this movie is a paradigm of profound ethnic and class divisions in Europe in the early 20th century which some of them prevail to this day.Serbia
- DirectorDeddy MizwarStarsReza RahadianTika BravaniAsrul DahlanThree freshly graduated adults try to educate young beggars to become street vendors, but are opposed by their fathers.Indonesia
- DirectorMostofa Sarwar FarookiStarsNusrat Imrose TishaMosharraf KarimRashed Uddin Ahmed TopuA woman breaks with traditional Muslim culture by living with her boyfriend before getting married, but when the relationship ends, she must face the harsh consequences of being an outcast in her community.Bangladesh
- DirectorJan HrebejkStarsLenka VlasákováMilan MikulcíkMartin HubaRenowned psychiatrist Pavel Josek is singled out to receive a "Memory of the Nation" medal, however, it transpires that this reputedly morally irreproachable dissident once collaborated with state security agencies, informing on a former friend of his wife, Borek, and ultimately being responsible for the latter's forced emigration. Josek's family and close friends try to come to terms with these new facts.Czech Republic
- DirectorÓscar Ruiz NaviaStarsKarent HinestrozaArnobio Salazar RivasRodrigo VélezA drama set in the black communities of Colombia's Pacific coast, where a man looking to flee the country by boat encounters a local fisherman.Colombia
- DirectorMaris MartinsonsStarsKaori MomoiAndrius MamontovasDan LauOne week in one of the most exotic and picturesque cities of the world. The day of changes comes when Amaya meets a charming Englishman, Paul and it dramatically changes Amaya's perception of her cultural and personal identity.Latvia
- DirectorFriðrik Þór FriðrikssonStarsKristbjörg KjeldHilmir Snær GuðnasonGunnar EyjólfssonA film director's personal journey experiencing his mother's disappearance into the Alzheimer disease, a film with essential Fridriksson's ingredients, humour, compassion and strong visual style.Iceland
- DirectorTorben BechOtto RosingStarsLars RosingAngunnguaq LarsenJulie BerthelsenA love-struck man discovers he has an incurable illness shortly after meeting the woman of his dreams.Greenland
- DirectorFederico VeirojStarsFelipe ArocenaGonzalo DelgadoJorge JellinekA movie-theater employee adjusts to a new life after the cinema he worked at for over 25 years is forced to shut down.Uruguay
- DirectorHilda HidalgoStarsPablo DerquiEliza TrianaJordi DauderBased on Gabriel García Márquez's novel, this is the unsettling story of 13-year-old noble Sierva and the dog bite that changes her life forever. Abandoned, displaced, in the midst of a sexual awakening and finally exorcised, Sierva finds an unlikely ally in a young priest and together they discover passion.Costa Rica
- DirectorAktan Arym KubatStarsAktan Arym KubatTaalaikan AbazovaAskat SulaimanovThe main hero of the film is an electrician with a far greater effect on the people around him than his job defines. He is the last link in a huge energetic system and he becomes the binding bridge between the geopolitical problems of post-soviet space and the common people. The economic devastation of the country had an enormous impact on the industrial workers and yet despite the upheaval, these people did not seize to love and suffer, to have and be friends and to enjoy their lives. In particular our resilient electrician, who possesses a wonderful and open heart. He not only brings electric light (which is often out) to the lives of the inhabitants of this small city, but he also spreads the light of love, loyalty, life and mainly laughter.Kyrgyzstan
- DirectorGoran DevicZvonimir JuricStarsIvo GregurevicKresimir MikicFranjo DijakLooking for the enemy, they found it where nobody expected - in themselves.Croatia
- DirectorFlorence JaugeyStarsAlma BlancoRigoberto MayorgaGabriel BenavidesThis is the story of Yuma a strong-willed and rebellious girl from the poor neighborhoods of Managua who dreams of being a boxer.Nicaragua
- DirectorMehdi NaderiStarsMazdak MirabediniPantea BahramMostafa ZamaniThe Polish-American boxer Daniel Dalca (Mazdak Mirabedini) escapes his problems by enlisting in the army. After four years when his mission is over, he is sent back home where he would have to face his past problems. So he decides to desert the army. In the middle of a desert he gets bitten by a scorpion. On the very day of her marriage, 29 March 2003 Rebecca (Pantea Bahram) lost her husband during the British-American attack on Iraq. Today she is managing a little restaurant on the Iraqi borderline where she hosts Iraqi and American soldiers. She goes to the landmines to clear mines in order to plant trees and palms at the very same places. Saleh Al Marzouk (Mostafa Zamani) is an Iraqi math teacher who lost his family on the 29 March Baghdad bombings. Meanwhile, he detained and later imprisoned at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison for three years. Disguised as a woman, he plans to blow himself up at a restaurant on Christmas Day in 2009. There, he suddenly discovers a picture of himself on the wall, when Rebecca enters the restaurant. Shocked, Saleh runs away.Iran
- DirectorIgor SterkStarsIgor SamoborSilva CusinLabina MitevskaA police inspector investigates an unusual suicide case. The investigation develops into an obsession, inspector starts living in the apartment of the deceased, digging through his life and gradually taking over his identity.Slovenia
- DirectorAkan SatayevStarsAndrey MerzlikinTungyshpai ZhamankulovAyganim SadykovaThe main character, his wife and small son lose their way and become stuck on a country road. As a result, they have to spend the night in their car. The following morning, the main character awakens alone, his wife and son having mysteriously disappeared. His preliminary searches bring the hero to a small lonely house, in which an old man and a young woman live. It seems that these strange tenants know about him and his family but try to hide their knowledge. For what reason?Kazakhstan
- DirectorFábio BarretoMarcelo SantiagoStarsRui Ricardo DiazGlória PiresJuliana BaroniThe true story of a working-class boy who moves to the nation's financial capital at a young age and becomes one of the most influential politicians in Brazil's history.Brazil
- DirectorIlgar SafatStarsZuzu BejashviliMelissa PapelVaqif IbrahimogluThe story is set in Baku. A famous photographer has to choose between accepting a valuable job offer in Africa or marrying his fiancee - a young , talented sculptor inspired by images of ritual dances. The photographer decides to accept the job offer and - once again - postpones his wedding. During the ensuing quarrel, the photographer and his fiancee have a car accident along the road which leads to the ancient cave city. They later find themselves in a police precinct, where the photographer has to come to terms with his dread of women or he will not leave the precinct alive.Azerbaijan
- DirectorJaroslav VojtekStarsPeter LizákTibor TóthStefan TóthA documentary about a village that was during one night in 1947 separated by force into a Soviet and a Czechoslovak part in a way, that the border runs through the middle of the village, separating properties and families.Slovakia
- DirectorGjergj XhuvaniStarsNdriçim XhepaHelidon FinoGentiano HaziziAn amateur cycling team from Albania heads to France to take part in a tournament only to discover on the way that revolution has broken out back home.Albania
- DirectorCoco MartinDondon S. SantosStarsCoco MartinCherry Pie PicacheErich GonzalesDesperate to find means of support for his family, Noy (Coco Martin) fakes his credentials to get a job as a TV journalist. His assignment is to come up with a documentary on the 2010 Philippines national elections while following the trail of his namesake, senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, the top presidential contender. During the campaign Noy becomes more aware of the responsibilities of real journalists. While a fresh wave of nationalistic fervor and enthusiasm permeate the country, life at home fails to improve for Noy's family and the disparity between the two "Noys" becomes increasingly evident. If one lives for the truth, the other lives a lie to survive. Infused with actual documentary footage of the presidential elections, interwoven with dramatic scenes, the film deals with the realities of poverty for many Filipino families and the fact that it may take more than one man to change the country's history.Philippines
- DirectorRafi MercadoStarsOscar H. GuerreroMariana Santangelo GoldmanFrank PerozoHenry is an introverted young artist who, seeking to escape the banality and violence of urban life, begins to blur the distinction between fantasy and reality.Puerto Rico