Foreign+Film

Definition
Foreign film refers to all film made outside the United States, positioning the US as the basis of comparison. Foreign film does not include anything "independent", "non-mainstream" or "artistic" made in the United States. It is worthwhile to note that Canadian film is also considered "foreign".

Recognition
Since the concept "foreign film" is centered around the US, the top award a "foreign film" can receive would be the American //Academy Award (Oscar) for Best Foreign Language Film//. The first recognition of foreign film came in 1947 and was termed the "Honourary Award". Starting in 1956 the award became a category in its own right, and the first film awarded was Italian "La Strada". The criteria for candidates is:
 * Film is in a language other than English, and
 * It is released in the country of origin

Each year a jury from each applicant country of origin nominates a film that represents it at the Oscars. From 1947 to 1955 the sole recepients of the "Honourary Award" were films from Italy, France and Japan. Starting from 1956, when the "Honourary Award" became the "Academy Award for Best Foreign Film", the trend slowly evolved to include movies first from other European countries, and then Asia, with very few exceptions like the 1969's Algerian film "Z". India has not been nominated for a film since its debut in 1957 until 1988 (Salaam Bombay!) and then again in 2001 (Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India). Over the course of time, other Asian movies were nominated, the first being the Chinese "Ju Dou" (1990).

Approximately 100 countries have submitted films to the Oscar over the years. Only 16 competed every year without interruption: Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Taiwan.


 * The top 10 award winners/nominees are**:


 * **Country** || **Awards** || **Nominees** ||
 * Italy || 11 || 27 ||
 * France || 9 || 34 ||
 * Spain || 4 || 19 ||
 * Sweden || 3 || 14 ||
 * USSR || 3 || 10 ||
 * Netherlands || 3 || 7 ||
 * Germany || 2 || 15 ||
 * Czechoslovakia/Denmark || 2 || 6 ||
 * Switzerland || 2 || 5 ||
 * Hungary || 1 || 8 ||

Official Criteria of Eligibility for the 79th Oscar Awards (from the [|Oscars.org] website)
1. The film must be first released in the country submitting the film no earlier than October 1, 2005 and no later than September 30, 2006, and be first publicly exhibited by means of 35mm or 70mm film for a run of at least seven consecutive days in a commercial motion picture theater for the profit of the producer and exhibitor, advertised and exploited during the run in a manner considered normal and customary to the industry. The picture need not have been released in the United States.

2. The recording of the original dialogue track as well as the completed film must be predominantly in a language or languages other than English. **Accurate English subtitles are required****.**

3. The submitting country must certify that creative talent of that country exercised artistic control of the film.

4. The Academy will make the final determination in all questions of eligibility.

Example of a Foreign Film: Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears (USSR)
In 1980, the Award for Best Foreign Film went to the Soviet drama "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears" (Russian "Москва Слезам Не Верит"), also awarded for the USSR State Prize. Starring the famous Vera Alentova and Aleksey Batalov, and directed by Alentova's husband, Vladimir Menshov, this drama became very popular in Russia (and still is) as a reflection of the Soviet times, will and hardships.

//Plot//: Moscow, 1950-1970. Three young girls from a rural town come to Moscow in order to pursue their dreams of love and education. One of the three, the main character, Ekaterina (played by Alentova) meets a young man named Rudolf (played by Yuri Vasiliev) at a party. He has a prestigious job (back then) of cameraman for a local TV station. Eventually, she is seduced by him and gets pregnant. Rudolf, upon finding out that Ekaterina is not from Moscow (Moscow citizenship was a sign of status), tells her that marriage is not an option and disappears. Rudolf's mother, who is part of the Soviet elite, orders her to leave him alone and offers money. Ekaterina refuses and is left alone, pregnant.

20 years later. Ekaterina is a director of a large factory, and has a beautiful daughter, but is still not married. She has a married lover, and although she seems very successful, she feels that she's missing something from her life. One day, when she is returning from her dacha (Russian countryhouse) she meets a factory worker named Gosha, whom she dismisses at first, but is then amazed with his honest personality. She hides the fact that she is a successful director. Soon, she falls in love.

In a sudden turn of events, Rudolf appears at Ekaterina's factory to film an interview with her for his TV station. He is old and does not have any children. He wants to come back to Ekaterina and see their daughter. Ekaterina rejects, but he unexpectedly shows up to her apartment when Gosha, Ekaterina and her daughter are having dinner. In their conversation, Gosha realizes that Ekaterina is making more money than he is and, his principles not allowing, storms out.

For days, he is nowhere to be found. Ekaterina is weeping in her apartment and her 2 old university girlfriends devise a plan to get him back by sending one of their husbands. The husband finds Gosha, gets drunk with him and convinces him to come back to Ekaterina.

The last scene is in Ekaterina's apartment. She watches Gosha eat with tears in her eyes. He looks at her and asks: "What's wrong?" She replies: "I've been looking for you for so long." He thinks and says: "8 days". "No," she says, "I've been looking for you for so long".

Life is Beautiful is a tragic film depicting the events of World War 2. Though the film is tragic in nature, comedic actor Roberto Benigni plays the part of Guido a schoolteacher with a lovable funny charm. The film depicts the anti-Semitic movement that infected Europe during the WWII. After Guido and his family are forced into a Jewish Concentration camp, the light hearted character of Guido goes through elaborate measures to hide the true nature of the camp and why they are really there. By making his young son believe that they are in the running of winning a army tank, he tries to make the concentration camp experience an enjoyable one. The young boy believes through the good intentioned lies of his father, that the poor sleeping conditions, and no food were all a test to see if they had the will to win this “tank contest.” A movie that pulls tears and emotion is everyway possible.
 * Another Example: La Vita E Bella (Life Is Beautiful)**

__**Awards**__ Grand Prize of the Jury Academy Awards for Best Music Original Dramatic Score Best Foreign Language Film Best Actor César Award for Best Foreign Film in 1999 ( Wikipedia.)


 * Bibliography**:

Blockbuster Online. "Life Is Beautiful". 2006. Blockbuster.com. [|http://www.blockbuster.com/online/catalog/movieDetails?movieId=116298]

"Foreign Film Image". Variety. December 4, 2006. http://www.variety.com/graphics/foreign_1.jpg

Tim Dirks (1996-2006). "Timeline of Important Milestones and Influential Moments in History". December 4, 2006. http://www.filmsite.org/milestones1950s.html

Von Geldern, J. Siegelbaum, L. (2003) "Moscow Doesn't Believe in Tears". Seventeen Moments in Soviet History. December 4, 2006. http://www.soviethistory.org/index.php?action=L2&SubjectID=1980moscow&Year=1980

Wikipedia. "Academy Award for Best Foreign Film". December 4, 2006. Wikipedia.org. December 4, 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Award_for_Best_Foreign_Language_Film

Wikipedia. "Life Is Beautiful". December 5, 2006. Wikipedia.org. [|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_Is_Beautiful]