Foreign-language Oscar submissions: What's new (VAR, THR, TOH)

By Nancy Tartaglione-Moore

With the Academy deadline for submissions for the foreign language film Oscar nearing, national selections are being announced at a rapid clip. Following is a list of those to crop up overnight.

China:

Per Variety, Zhang Yimou's WW2 epic "Flowers of War," which stars Christian Bale, looks set to be China's entry. The final decision is to be made today (Friday). It will screen for a week from Sept 24 to meet the Oscar screening requirements.

Chile:

Chile will send Andres Wood's "Violeta" to represent the country. Variety reports that a special committee of some 40 reps from various guilds selected the pic which was up against Pablo Larrain's "Post Mortem" and Oscar Godoy's "Ulysses.

"Violeta" is a biopic of Chilean folksinger, poet, activist and painter Violeta Parra.

Mexico:

Gerardo Naranjo's "Miss Bala," which debuted in Cannes this year, is Mexico's choice for entry.

The film is currently in Mexican theaters and tells the tale of a beauty queen wannabe forced into a nightmarish world of spiraling violence and corruption, says Variety.

Hong Kong:

Ann Hui's award-winning drama "A Simple Life" will do the honors for Hong Kong.

The Hollywood Reporter notes that star Deanie Ip was named Best Actress in Venice last month.

Israel:

Joseph Cedar's "Footnote," a Cannes entry which also took nine Ophir Awards in its home country, is the contender from Israel. The relationship dramedy won the Cannes screenwriting Palme d'Or.

Anne Thompson notes that Israel has a sensible approach to picking its official Oscar submission every year: The film that wins the best picture Ophir, its own Academy Award, is submitted.

**This article was compiled using reports from Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and Thompson on Hollywood. The original stories can be accessed by clicking the hyperlinks in the text above.