Each year the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences invites countries to submit a single film for consideration in the competitive category of Best Foreign Language Film. FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION is a choice sampling of these submissions, curated by California Film Institute, offering a rare opportunity to view some of the most distinguished works in world cinema.

The FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION Series epitomizes our continued mission to celebrate the art of film and demonstrates our dedication to showcasing original voices in independent cinema.

This exciting series is available via CineConductor.
THE FENCER will be available as a stand-alone title from CFI Releasing in Spring, 2017.

Booking:  Jonathan Howell  |  [email protected] | 917.400.1437
Publicity:  Shelley Spicer  |  [email protected]  |  415.526.5845

CLICK HERE to download the EPK

AFTERIMAGE

Poland’s submission for the 89th Academy Awards®, 2017

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In a finale to an illustrious moviemaking career, director Andrzej Wajda (who passed away in October) charts the life of the passionate artist Wladyslaw Strzeminski, who battled Stalinist orthodoxy and his own physical impairments to advance his progressive ideas about art. Strzeminski was considered a peer of Kandinsky and a pioneer of the Polish Constructivist avant-garde of the 1920s and 30s. In Polish with English subtitles. 98 min.

AWARDS: Special Jury Prize, Polish Film Festival 2016

Director: Andrzej Wajda
Screenplay: Andrzej Mularczyk
Cast:  Boguslaw LindaAleksandra Justa,Bronislawa Zamachowska
Format(s):  CineConductor
Details: 2016. Poland. 98 min. Color. Drama.
Rights holder: Film Movement

APPRENTICE

Singapore’s submission for the 89th Academy Awards®, 2017

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Aiman, an ambitious young correctional officer, will do anything it takes to be transferred to Singapore’s highest-security prison. His drive to become apprentice to the chief executioner Rahim is born of a desire to reconnect with a past that haunts him. Award winning Director Boo Jenfeng’s stylized tale dazzled audiences at Cannes last May. In Malay with English Subtitles. 97 min.

AWARDS: Rising Director Award, Busan International Film Festival 2016; special Mention, Hawaii International Film Festival 2016; Pylon Award, QCinema Interntational Film Festival 2016; Interfaith Award, St. Louis International Film Festival 2016; (nominated) Un Certain Regard, Cannes Film Festival 2016

Director: Boo Junfeng
Screenplay: Boo Junfeng
Cast:  Firdaus Rahman,  Wan Hanafi Su,  Mastura Ahmad
Format(s): CineConductor
Details: 2016. Singapore. 97 min. Color. Drama.
Rights holder: Film Movement

THE BLACK HEN (KALO POTHI)

Nepal’s submission for the 88th Academy Awards®, 2016

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Mixing humor, tragedy and beautiful fantasy, first time writer/director Min Bahadur Bham borrows from his own experience growing up in a segregated village in Northern Nepal during the Maoist insurgency. The story centers on two boys, inseparable friends divided by caste, who concoct a plan to sell the eggs of a prized and pampered black hen. In Nepali with English subtitles. 90 minutes.

AWARDS: Fedeora Award, Best Film (International Film Critics Week), 2015 Venice Film Festival

Director: Min Bahadur Bham
Screenplay: Min Bahadur Bham, Abinash Bikram Shah
Cast:  Khadka Raj Nepali,  Sukra Raj Rokaya,  Jit Bahadur Malla
Format(s): CineConductor
Details: 2015. Nepal. 90 min. Color. Drama.
Rights holder: Wide Management

FIRE AT SEA (FUOCOAMMARE)

Italy’s submission for the 88th Academy Awards®, 2016

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Gianfranco Rosi’s stunning documentary focuses on the tiny Sicilian island of Lampedusa, a key entry point for refugees fleeing war and persecution in Africa.  Brilliantly juxtaposing the lives of local residents like young Samuele, a slingshot aficionado and his doting grandmother, with heart-wrenching portraits of the refugees, Fire at Sea reveals the subtle connections between the micro and macro realities of our globalized world. In Italian with English subtitles. 114 min.

AWARDS: Golden Bear, Amnesty International Film Prize & Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, Berlin Film Festival 2016; Cinema Eye Honors Award, 2017; (Nominated) Best Documentary – Academy Awards®, 2017

Director: Gianfranco Rosi
Screenplay: Gianfranco Rosi, Carla Cattani
Cast: Samuele Pucillo, Maria Costa, Giuseppe Fragapane
Format(s): CineConductor
Details: 2015. Italy. 114 min. Color. Documentary.
Rights holder: Kino Lorber

A FLICKERING TRUTH

New Zealand’s submission for the 89th Academy Awards®, 2017

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An extraordinary documentary that literally blows the dust off of 100 years of conflict, revealing cinematic gems of the Afghani film archives that were ravaged, burned and banned by Taliban interdiction. As brave archivists thread projectors with film from unmarked reels, the country’s rich history comes alive with images of former leaders, beloved actresses, and landmarks now gone. In Dari with English subtitles. 93 min.

AWARDS: Best Documentary, Bergen International Film Festival; Documentary Award, The WIFTS Foundation International Visionary Award 2015

Director: Pietra Brettkelly
Screenplay: Pietra Brettkelly
Cast: Ibrehim Arif, Mahmoud Ghafouri, Isaaq Yousif
Format(s): CineConductor
Details: 2015. New Zealand. 93 min. Color. Documentary.
Rights holder: Pietra Brettkelly

I AM NOJOOM, AGE 10 AND DIVORCED

Yemen’s submission for the 89th Academy Awards®, 2017

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Amid strikingly beautiful and stark landscapes, this true story of underage marriage reflects the painful reality of Yemeni tribal culture and the vulnerability of girls. Forced by her father to marry a man three times her age, Nojoom escapes her family and files for divorce in court. Wiser than her years, she has unshakeable resolve. In Arabic with English subtitles. Writer/Director: Khadija Al-Salami. 99 minutes.

AWARDS: Best Fiction Feature, Dubai International Film Festival 2014

Director: Khadija Al-Salami
Screenplay: Khadija Al-Salami
Cast: Adnan Alkhader, Rana Mohammed, Reham Mohammed
Format(s): CineConductor
Details: 2014. Yemen. 99 min. Color. Biography Drama.
Rights holder: Wide Management

PARADISE

Russia’s submission for the 89th Academy Awards®, 2017

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This striking period drama by Andrei Konchalovsky (Runaway Train) reveals the price of loyalty to one’s convictions. Russian noblewoman Olga is arrested and imprisoned in occupied France for sheltering Jewish children.  She ends up in a concentration camp where she rekindles a romance with Helmut, now a Nazi SS officer. Seeing that the tide of war is quickly turning against the Nazis, they plot their escape. In French, German & Russian with English subtitles. 131 min

AWARDS: Silver Lion, Best Director, Venice Film Festival 2016; Best Screenplay, Mar del Plata Film Festival 2016; Best Actress, Best Cinematography & Youth Jury Award, Gijon International Film Festival; (nominated) Best Feature, Chicago International Film Festival 2016; Short List, Best Foreign Language Film – Academy Awards®, 2017

Director: Andrei Konchalovskiy
Screenplay: Elena Kiseleva, Andrei Konchalovskiy
Cast: Yuliya Vysotskaya, Peter Kurth, Victor Sukhorukov
Format(s): CineConductor
Details: 2016. Russia. 131 min. Black and white. Narrative Drama.
Rights holder: Film Movement

TANNA

Australia’s submission for the 89th Academy Awards®, 2017

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Venice Film Festival winner Tanna is the tale of young lovers caught between the traditions and taboos of their tribe and following the desires of their hearts. Co-directors Bentley Dean and Martin Butler spent 7 months with the Yakel people of the South Pacific island of Vanuatu, developing a collaborative script based on actual events. The results are sensuous, magical and unforgettable. In Nauvhal with English subtitles. 104 min.

AWARDS: Best Foreign Film, African-American Film Critics Association 2016; Best Direction, Australian Directors Guild Award 2016; Special Jury Prize, London Film Festival 2015; Best Cinematography & International Critics’ Week Award, Venice Film Festival 2015; (Nominated) Best Foreign Language Film – Academy Awards®, 2017

Director: Martin Butler, Bentley Dean
Screenplay: Martin Butler, Bentley Dean, John Collee
Cast: Mungau Dain, Marie Wawa
Format(s): CineConductor
Details: 2015. Australia. 104 min. Color. Narrative Drama.
Rights holder: Lightyear Entertainment

CFI is proud to acknowledge Marin Community Foundation for their generous support of CFI Releasing.