Sony Pictures Classics via AP
This image shows Sandra Huller as Ines, left, and Peter Simonischek as Winfried in a scene from the Komplizen Film, \u201cToni Erdmann.\u201d The film was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign language film on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017. The 89th Academy Awards will take place on Feb. 26.
Associated Press
Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017 | 1:15 a.m.
A father-daughter comedy from Germany, a psychological thriller from Iran, a Danish film about German prisoners of war, a dark Swedish comedy about a grumpy man, and an Australian film about tribal love on a remote South Pacific island are this year’s Oscar nominees for best foreign film.
One of the best known of the nominees announced Tuesday is \u00ab\u00a0Toni Erdmann,\u00a0\u00bb a generational-divide comedy from German writer-director Maren Ade that was a sensation at Cannes in May. The film, almost three hours long, also touches on themes of political and social conflict.
\u00ab\u00a0I cannot tell you how proud I am and how incredible this feels! \u00a0\u00bb Ade said in a statement. \u00ab\u00a0It was a very long journey to make this film \u2014 we all never thought anything like this could happen. Thank you for making me such a fortunate filmmaker. \u00a0\u00bb
Co-producer Jonas Dornbach, speaking from Berlin, said the film has been well received because almost everyone can find something that resonates with them personally. \u00ab\u00a0This film speaks about the family and the father-daughter relationship, and everyone has a family, everyone has a certain role in the family, so everyone can really connect,\u00a0\u00bb he said.
Also nominated in the category is a previous Oscar winner \u2014 Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, with \u00ab\u00a0The Salesman. \u00a0\u00bb Farhadi’s much-admired \u00ab\u00a0A Separation\u00a0\u00bb won the category in 2012.
\u00ab\u00a0The Salesman\u00a0\u00bb is a psychological thriller about a young couple in Tehran involved in a production of Arthur Miller’s \u00ab\u00a0Death of a Salesman. \u00a0\u00bb They move into a new apartment, where a violent act connected to a former tenant changes their lives.
\u00ab\u00a0The greatest consequence of this event is that a greater number of people will see this film and as a result my world will grow,\u00a0\u00bb Farhadi said in a telephone interview from Tehran. And he added: \u00ab\u00a0This is really a two-way phenomenon. Just as my world grows, so does that of the audience. \u00a0\u00bb
He noted that it was a sad time in Tehran because of last week’s deadly fire and collapse of a high-rise building. \u00ab\u00a0But I hope this news will be a little bit uplifting for everyone,\u00a0\u00bb he said.
The recent Golden Globe winner for foreign film, Paul Verhoeven’s \u00ab\u00a0Elle,\u00a0\u00bb was not nominated for an Oscar. But its luminous star, Isabelle Huppert, was nominated in the best actress category for her French-speaking role.
Speaking in Paris, Huppert \u2014 who also won the Globe for best actress in a drama \u2014 noted how difficult it is to earn an Oscar acting nod in a foreign language.
\u00ab\u00a0You know that a film produced in a foreign language (has) additional difficulty to reach the heart of a public that does not speak the language,\u00a0\u00bb she said. \u00ab\u00a0So for all these reasons, it’s really extraordinary to have received all these distinctions. \u00a0\u00bb
Martin Zandvliet, director of the Danish film \u00ab\u00a0Land of Mine,\u00a0\u00bb at first planned to stay home on Tuesday, believing it would be bad karma to go out, but changed his mind and went to Nordisk Film studio in Copenhagen to wait for the nominations with others. When the movie was listed first, \u00ab\u00a0we screamed,\u00a0\u00bb he said, calling the nomination \u00ab\u00a0fantastic. \u00a0\u00bb
The film, inspired by real events, tells the story of German prisoners of war sent to clear mines in Denmark after World War II.
The Swedish film \u00ab\u00a0A Man Called Ove\u00a0\u00bb also earned a nod. Based on a novel of the same name, the dark comedy tells the story of a grumpy old man who seeks to end it all, when new acquaintances change his life.
\u00ab\u00a0It is absolutely amazing,\u00a0\u00bb actor Rolf Lassgard, who stars, told Swedish broadcaster SVT. \u00ab\u00a0We had never in our wildest dreams ever imagined this. \u00a0\u00bb
Rounding out the nominees was \u00ab\u00a0Tanna,\u00a0\u00bb the first ever foreign-language nominee from Australia. A story of tribal love, the film was shot on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu, in the Nauvhal language, with an amateur cast of villagers. Filmmakers Martin Butler and Bentley Dean lived on Tanna for months to tell the story.
\u00ab\u00a0It was just fabulous news and a little bit hard to believe,\u00a0\u00bb Dean said in a telephone interview. \u00ab\u00a0Given how it all started, I think it makes it a bit more improbable. \u00a0\u00bb
The fact that \u00ab\u00a0Tanna\u00a0\u00bb is the first Australian movie to be nominated in the foreign language film category makes it even more special, Dean said.
\u00ab\u00a0I think it’s the most exciting category to have a film in,\u00a0\u00bb he said. \u00ab\u00a0It’s a real celebration of cinema, no matter who you are, where you come from. \u00ab\u00a0<\/p>\n

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