Greek Film ‘Chevalier’ Submitted for 2016 Oscars

 

With February fast approaching, the time has come for 85 foreign countries to submit their top films for consideration for the 2016 Foreign Language Film Oscar, and Greece has submitted Athina Rachel Tsangari’s “Chevalier” for this great honor.

89 countries submitted their films for the 89th Academy Awards, and 85 were selected. The list will be narrowed down to nine finalists in December, and the five Academy Award nominees will be announced on January 24, 2017.

Tsangari’s “Chevalier” has already picked up significant awards and praise since its premiere, winning the “Best Film” prize at the London Film Festival.

The witty film focuses on six well-off, middle-aged men, competing on a boat trip for “The Best in General”, a title that pretty much means nothing outside of being proclaimed the best of their group of friends.

“Chevalier” combines dramatic and comedic moments in its quirky storyline to explore issues of status, social relationships and exchanges, and what may be lurking beneath the surface in even the most ordinary-looking men.

Greek pop star Sakis Rouvas stars in the film, as well as actors Panos Koronis, Makis Papadimitriou, Yorgos Pirpassopoulos, Vangelis Mourikis, and Yiorgos Kendros. Tsangari co-wrote the script with Efthymios Filippou, who frequently collaborates with Yorgos Lanthimos on his films.

If you want to see the full list of international entries for Best 2016 Foreign Language Film at the Oscars, here are all the submissions:

Albania, “Chromium,” Bujar Alimani, director;

Algeria, “The Well,” Lotfi Bouchouchi, director;

Argentina, “The Distinguished Citizen,” Mariano Cohn, Gastón Duprat, directors;

Australia, “Tanna,” Bentley Dean, Martin Butler, directors;

Austria, “Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe,” Maria Schrader, director;

Bangladesh, “The Unnamed,” Tauquir Ahmed, director;

Belgium, “The Ardennes,” Robin Pront, director;

Bolivia, “Sealed Cargo,” Julia Vargas Weise, director;

Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Death in Sarajevo,” Danis Tanovic, director;

Brazil, “Little Secret,” David Schurmann, director;

Bulgaria, “Losers,” Ivaylo Hristov, director;

Cambodia, “Before the Fall,” Ian White, director;

Canada, “It’s Only the End of the World,” Xavier Dolan, director;

Chile, “Neruda,” Pablo Larraín, director;

China, “Xuan Zang,” Huo Jianqi, director;

Colombia, “Alias Maria,” José Luis Rugeles, director;

Costa Rica, “About Us,” Hernán Jiménez, director;

Croatia, “On the Other Side,” Zrinko Ogresta, director;

Cuba, “The Companion,” Pavel Giroud, director;

Czech Republic, “Lost in Munich,” Petr Zelenka, director;

Denmark, “Land of Mine,” Martin Zandvliet, director;

Dominican Republic, “Sugar Fields,” Fernando Báez, director;

Ecuador, “Such Is Life in the Tropics,” Sebastián Cordero, director;

Egypt, “Clash,” Mohamed Diab, director;

Estonia, “Mother,” Kadri Kõusaar, director;

Finland, “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki,” Juho Kuosmanen, director;

France, “Elle,” Paul Verhoeven, director;

Georgia, “House of Others,” Rusudan Glurjidze, director;

Germany, “Toni Erdmann,” Maren Ade, director;

Greece, “Chevalier,” Athina Rachel Tsangari, director;

Hong Kong, “Port of Call,” Philip Yung, director;

Hungary, “Kills on Wheels,” Attila Till, director;

Iceland, “Sparrows,” Rúnar Rúnarsson, director;

India, “Interrogation,” Vetri Maaran, director;

Indonesia, “Letters from Prague,” Angga Dwimas Sasongko, director;

Iran, “The Salesman,” Asghar Farhadi, director;

Iraq, “El Clásico,” Halkawt Mustafa, director;

Israel, “Sand Storm,” Elite Zexer, director;

Italy, “Fire at Sea,” Gianfranco Rosi, director;

Japan, “Nagasaki: Memories of My Son,” Yoji Yamada, director;

Jordan, “3000 Nights,” Mai Masri, director;

Kazakhstan, “Amanat,” Satybaldy Narymbetov, director;

Kosovo, “Home Sweet Home,” Faton Bajraktari, director;

Kyrgyzstan, “A Father’s Will,” Bakyt Mukul, Dastan Zhapar Uulu, directors;

Latvia, “Dawn,” Laila Pakalnina, director;

Lebanon, “Very Big Shot,” Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya, director;

Lithuania, “Seneca’s Day,” Kristijonas Vildziunas, director;

Luxembourg, “Voices from Chernobyl,” Pol Cruchten, director;

Macedonia, “The Liberation of Skopje,” Rade Šerbedžija, Danilo Šerbedžija, directors;

Malaysia, “Beautiful Pain,” Tunku Mona Riza, director;

Mexico, “Desierto,” Jonás Cuarón, director;

Montenegro, “The Black Pin,” Ivan Marinović, director;

Morocco, “A Mile in My Shoes,” Said Khallaf, director;

Nepal, “The Black Hen,” Min Bahadur Bham, director;

Netherlands, “Tonio,” Paula van der Oest, director;

New Zealand, “A Flickering Truth,” Pietra Brettkelly, director;

Norway, “The King’s Choice,” Erik Poppe, director;

Pakistan, “Mah-e-Mir,” Anjum Shahzad, director;

Palestine, “The Idol,” Hany Abu-Assad, director;

Panama, “Salsipuedes,” Ricardo Aguilar Navarro, Manolito Rodríguez, directors;

Peru, “Videophilia (and Other Viral Syndromes),” Juan Daniel F. Molero, director;

Philippines, “Ma’ Rosa,” Brillante Ma Mendoza, director;

Poland, “Afterimage,” Andrzej Wajda, director;

Portugal, “Letters from War,” Ivo M. Ferreira, director;

Romania, “Sieranevada,” Cristi Puiu, director;

Russia, “Paradise,” Andrei Konchalovsky, director;

Saudi Arabia, “Barakah Meets Barakah,” Mahmoud Sabbagh, director;

Serbia, “Train Driver’s Diary,” Milos Radovic, director;

Singapore, “Apprentice,” Boo Junfeng, director;

Slovakia, “Eva Nová,” Marko Skop, director;

Slovenia, “Houston, We Have a Problem!” Žiga Virc, director;

South Africa, “Call Me Thief,” Daryne Joshua, director;

South Korea, “The Age of Shadows,” Kim Jee-woon, director;

Spain, “Julieta,” Pedro Almodóvar, director;

Sweden, “A Man Called Ove,” Hannes Holm, director;

Switzerland, “My Life as a Zucchini,” Claude Barras, director;

Taiwan, “Hang in There, Kids!” Laha Mebow, director;

Thailand, “Karma,” Kanittha Kwunyoo, director;

Turkey, “Cold of Kalandar,” Mustafa Kara, director;

Ukraine, “Ukrainian Sheriffs,” Roman Bondarchuk, director;

United Kingdom, “Under the Shadow,” Babak Anvari, director;

Uruguay, “Breadcrumbs,” Manane Rodríguez, director;

Venezuela, “From Afar,” Lorenzo Vigas, director;

Vietnam, “Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass,” Victor Vu, director;

Yemen, “I Am Nojoom, Age 10 and Divorced,” Khadija Al-Salami, director.