Foreign language pics line up for Oscars ©

The Oscars © are not until February but already foreign language pics are lining up to reach for the golden ring.

Canada, Germany, Finland, Denmark, Japan and South Korea have already submitted entries to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for consideration in the foreign language best pic category.‘Hula Girls’, the Japanese selection, opens domestically September 23. The heartwarming true story of a small coal mining town in northern Japan which puts its faith and economic future into the creation of a lavish Hawaiian Centre complete with hot springs and hula dancers. Teenager Kimiko (Etsushi Toyokawa) is among the first to sign up for a new profession as a dancer despite the stern disapproval of her mother. The film is directed by Lee Sang-il, an ethnic Korean born and raised in Japan.
Slated to be released in the USA in spring ’07, ‘The Lives of Others’, helmed by newcomer Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck is the Germany entry. The film, a thriller, documents the former East German Statsi secret service and its system of domestic spying.Canada’s submission is Canadian/Indian director Deepha Mehta’s Hindi language ‘Water’ which exposes the plight of widows in India. Canada is taking advantage of the Academy’s new rule change which allows foreign language entries to feature any combination of languages as long as the dominant language is not English.Inland has submitted Aki Kaurismaki's "Lights in the Dusk," while Susanne Bier's "After the Wedding" is Denmark's pick. Directed, produced, written and edited by Kaurismaki, "Lights" is a dark drama about a lonely night watchman caught up in a series of misadventures. "Wedding,” is about the manager of an Indian orphanage who discovers a family secret. Korea has submitted its number one box-office hit, director Lee Joon-ik’s ‘King and the Clown.’The movie centers on two clowns living in the Chosun Dynasty who get arrested for staging a play that satirizes the king. They are dragged to the palace and threatened with execution, but are given a chance to save their lives if they can make the king laugh. Film has a strong homoerotic theme to it. CJ Entertainment plans to distribute the film directly in the U.S. in the first half of 2007. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences will announce the five international nominees for foreign-language Oscar on Jan. 23, 2007. The 79th Academy Awards © will take place Feb. 25, 2007.