A scene from 'Incendies'. Courtesy eOn Films.
Incendies, the official Canadian entry to this year’s Foreign Language Film Oscar category, has advanced to the final round of pre-selection along with eight other films out of the original list of 65.
Directed by Denis Villeneuve, and based on the play by Wajdi Mouawad, Incendies follows twins Simon and Jeanne (Maxim Gaudette and Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin) as they embark on a trip to the Middle East where they learn of their recently deceased mother’s disturbing past. The film recently won the Rogers Best Canadian Film award from the Toronto Film Critics Association, and was named one of TIFF’s Top 10 Canadian Films of 2010.
If Incendies ends up as one of the final nominations it will mark the fifth time Canada has had a film in the running at the Oscars. The previous four films we’ve had compete are The Decline of the American Empire (1986), Jesus of Montreal (1989), The Barbarian Invasions (2003), and Water (2006). (Denys Arcand’s The Barbarian Invasions did win the year it was nominated.) We’ll find out if we have a chance at bringing home another Oscar statuette on Tuesday, January 25 when the Oscar nominations are announced.
Incendies opens in Toronto and Vancouver on January 21, and is currently playing in Quebec.
The nine films moving to the final round are:
Algeria, Hors la Loi (Outside the Law), Rachid Bouchareb, director
Canada, Incendies, Denis Villeneuve, director
Denmark, In a Better World, Susanne Bier, director
Greece, Dogtooth, Yorgos Lanthimos, director
Japan, Confessions, Tetsuya Nakashima, director
Mexico, Biutiful, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, director
South Africa, Life, above All, Oliver Schmitz, director
Spain, Tambien la Lluvia (Even the Rain), Iciar Bollain, director
Sweden, Simple Simon, Andreas Ohman, director
