Ghana was among African countries who submitted their first film to Oscar 2020. Kwabena Gyanasah’s Azalia made the cut. The shortlist will be announced on December 16. Nominations for the 92nd Oscars will be unveiled on January 13, 2020, and the Oscars ceremony will take place on February 9, 2020, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
Ghana is one of the few debutants entering the international feature category, with Kwabena Gyansah’s Azalia, a drama about a girl from a small village who flees an arranged marriage to a 70-year-old man for the bustling capital Accra. The film is led by a primarily Ghanian cast, including Akofa Edjeani, Adjetey Anang, Mohammed Halfiz, and Ama K. Abebrese.
This is the first year the award will be given under the new name of ‘best international feature film’, after a change in April from ‘foreign-language film’. This is the first year the award will be given under the new name of ‘best international feature film’, after a change in April from ‘foreign-language film’.
The 2019 submissions, listed in alphabetical order by country
Albania, The Delegation, Bujar Alimani;
Algeria, Papicha, Mounia Meddour;
Argentina, Heroic Losers, Sebastián Borensztein;
Armenia, Lengthy Night, Edgar Baghdasaryan;
Australia, Buoyancy, Rodd Rathjen;
Austria, Joy, Sudabeh Mortezai;
Bangladesh, Alpha, Nasiruddin Yousuff;
Belarus, Debut, Anastasiya Miroshnichenko;
Belgium, Our Mothers, César Díaz; and
Bolivia, I Miss You, Rodrigo Bellott.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, The Son, Ines Tanovic;
Brazil, Invisible Life, Karim Aïnouz;
Bulgaria, Ága, Milko Lazarov;
Cambodia, In The Life Of Music, Caylee So, Sok Visal;
Canada, Antigone, Sophie Deraspe;
Chile, Spider, Andrés Wood;
China, Ne Zha, Yu Yang;
Colombia, Monos, Alejandro Landes;
Costa Rica, The Awakening Of The Ants, Antonella Sudasassi Furniss; and
Croatia, Mali, Antonio Nuic.
Cuba, A Translator, Rodrigo Barriuso, Sebastián Barriuso;
Czech Republic, The Painted Bird, Václav Marhoul;
Denmark, Queen Of Hearts, May el-Toukhy;
Dominican Republic, The Projectionist, José María Cabral;
Ecuador, The Longest Night, Gabriela Calvache;
Egypt, Poisonous Roses, Ahmed Fawzi Saleh;
Estonia, Truth And Justice, Tanel Toom;
Ethiopia, Running Against The Wind, Jan Philipp Weyl;
Finland, Stupid Young Heart, Selma Vilhunen; and
France, Les Misérables, Ladj Ly.
Georgia, Shindisi, Dimitri Tsintsadze;
Germany, System Crasher, Nora Fingscheidt;
Ghana, Azali, Kwabena Gyansah;
Greece, When Tomatoes Met Wagner, Marianna Economou;
Honduras, Blood, Passion, And Coffee, Carlos Membreño;
Hong Kong, The White Storm: 2 Drug Lords, Herman Yau;
Hungary, Those Who Remained, Barnabás Tóth;
Iceland, A White, White Day, Hlynur Pálmason;
India, Gully Boy, Zoya Akhtar; and
Indonesia, Memories Of My Body, Garin Nugroho.
Iran, Finding Farideh, Azadeh Moussavi, Kourosh Ataee;
Ireland, Gaza, Garry Keane, Andrew McConnell;
Israel, Incitement, Yaron Zilberman;
Italy, The Traitor, Marco Bellocchio;
Japan, Weathering With You, Makoto Shinkai;
Kazakhstan, Kazakh Khanate. The Golden Throne, Rustem Abdrashov;
Kenya, Subira, Ravneet Singh (Sippy) Chadha;
Kosovo, Zana, Antoneta Kastrati;
Kyrgyzstan, Aurora, Bekzat Pirmatov; and
Latvia, The Mover, Davis Simanis.
Lebanon, 1982, Oualid Mouaness;
Lithuania, Bridges Of Time, Audrius Stonys, Kristine Briede;
Luxembourg, Tel Aviv On Fire, Sameh Zoabi;
Malaysia, M For Malaysia, Dian Lee, Ineza Roussille;
Mexico, The Chambermaid, Lila Avilés;
Mongolia, The Steed, Erdenebileg Ganbold;
Montenegro, Neverending Past, Andro Martinović;
Morocco, Adam, Maryam Touzani;
Nepal, Bulbul, Binod Paudel; and
Netherlands, Instinct, Halina Reijn.
Nigeria, Lionheart, Genevieve Nnaji; – Disqualified
North Macedonia, Honeyland, Ljubo Stefanov, Tamara Kotevska;
Norway, Out Stealing Horses, Hans Petter Moland;
Pakistan, Laal Kabootar, Kamal Khan;
Palestine, It Must Be Heaven, Elia Suleiman;
Panama, Everybody Changes, Arturo Montenegro;
Peru, Retablo, Alvaro Delgado Aparicio;
Philippines, Verdict, Raymund Ribay Gutierrez;
Poland, Corpus Christi, Jan Komasa; and
Portugal, The Domain, Tiago Guedes.
Romania, The Whistlers, Corneliu Porumboiu;
Russia, Beanpole, Kantemir Balagov;
Saudi Arabia, The Perfect Candidate, Haifaa Al Mansour;
Senegal, Atlantics, Mati Diop;
Serbia, King Petar The First, Petar Ristovski;
Singapore, A Land Imagined, Yeo Siew Hua;
Slovakia, Let There Be Light, Marko Skop;
Slovenia, History Of Love, Sonja Prosenc;
South Africa, Knuckle City, Jahmil X.T. Qubeka; and
South Korea, Parasite, Bong Joon Ho.
Spain, Pain And Glory, Pedro Almodóvar;
Sweden, And Then We Danced, Levan Akin;
Switzerland, Wolkenbruch’s Wondrous Journey Into The Arms Of A Shiksa, Michael Steiner;
Taiwan, Dear Ex, Mag Hsu, Chih-Yen Hsu;
Thailand, Krasue: Inhuman Kiss, Sitisiri Mongkolsiri;
Tunisia, Dear Son, Mohamed Ben Attia;
Turkey, Commitment, Semih Kaplanoglu;
Ukraine, Homeward, Nariman Aliev;
United Kingdom, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, Chiwetel Ejiofor; and
Uruguay, The Moneychanger, Federico Veiroj.
Uzbekistan, Hot Bread, Umid Khamdamov;
Venezuela, Being Impossible, Patricia Ortega; and
Vietnam, Furie, Le Van Kiet.
Source: Screendaily.com
