List of Armenian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Armenia has submitted films for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film since 2002. The award is handed out annually by the United States Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue.[1] It was not created until the 1956 Academy Awards, in which a competitive Academy Award of Merit, known as the Best Foreign Language Film Award, was created for non-English speaking films, and has been given annually since.[2] They also unsuccessfully attempted to submit a film in 1991.
As of 2016, five Armenian films have been submitted for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but none of them have yet been nominated for an Oscar.
Submissions
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited the film industries of various countries to submit their best film for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film since 1956.[2] The Foreign Language Film Award Committee oversees the process and reviews all the submitted films. Following this, they vote via secret ballot to determine the five nominees for the award.[1] Below is a list of the films that have been submitted by Armenia for review by the Academy for the award by year and the respective Academy Awards ceremony.
| Year (Ceremony) | Film title used in nomination | Original title | Language(s) | Director | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 (74th) |
Symphony of Silence | Լռության Սիմֆոնիա (Lrutyan Simfonia) |
Armenian | Chaldranyan, VigenVigen Chaldranyan | Not Nominated |
| 2003 (76th) |
Vodka Lemon | Vodka Lemon | Kurdish, Armenian, Russian, French |
Saleem, HinerHiner Saleem | Not Nominated |
| 2009 (82nd) |
Autumn of the Magician | Հրաշագործի աշունը (Hrashagortsi ashune) |
Italian | Ruben Gevorkyants & Vahe Gevorkyants |
Not Nominated |
| 2012 (85th) |
If Only Everyone[3] | Եթե բոլորը (Ete bolore) |
Armenian | Nataliya Belyauskene | Not Nominated |
| 2016 (89th) |
Earthquake[4] | երկրաշարժ | Armenian | Sarik Andreasyan | Disqualified[5] |
The Armenian film industry has had a difficult time in this category, and has never yet been nominated. They tried to submit a film for the first time in 1991 after declaring independence form the USSR, but were rejected because Armenia was not yet an internationally recognized state. They tried again ten years later with the well-received drama Symphony of Silence, about a terminally ill man who returns from the USA to his Armenian homeland. In 2003, they sent Vodka Lemon, a black comedy set in Armenia and made by French-based Iraqi Kurdish director Hiner Saleem. AMPAS originally disqualified the film saying that the film was not a majority Armenian production, but changed its mind after Armenia was able to prove "sufficient creative control" during the making of the film. The film was screened alongside 55 other films but failed to receive a nomination.
In 2009, Armenia rejoined the Oscar competition with a 52-minute documentary short called Autumn of the Magician about the life and career of 89-year-old Italian screenwriter and artist Tonino Guerra.
See also
- List of Academy Award winners and nominees for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Academy Award-winning foreign language films
- Cinema of Armenia
References
- 1 2 "Rule Thirteen: Special Rules for the Foreign Language Film Award". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 2013-08-26.
- 1 2 "History of the Academy Awards - Page 2". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 2008-06-22. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
- ↑ Toussi, Elnaz (27 September 2012). "Armenia selects drama as foreign language Oscar entry". Screendaily. Screen International. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
- ↑ Holdsworth, Nick (4 September 2016). "Oscars: Armenia Selects 'Earthquake' for Foreign-Language Category". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
- ↑ Kozlov, Vladimir (12 October 2016). "Foreign-Language Oscar: Armenian Submission Disqualified". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
