‘Waltz With Bashir’ on Oscar shortlist

January 14, 2009

LOS ANGELES (JTA) -- Israel’s “Waltz with Bashir” has made the shortlist for the Oscar race.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Tuesday that the film was among nine foreign-language films chosen from among 65 entries. It was the second triumph for “Waltz” this week; the film won the Golden Globe in its category on Sunday.

The double dose of good news solidified the film’s front-runner status to take home Israel’s first Oscar at next month’s Academy Awards ceremony.

“Waltz with Bashir” is an edgy, animated film, by and about director Ari Folman as a traumatized veteran trying to recover his memories of the first Lebanon War.

The nine semifinalists will be narrowed to five finalists by the selection committee. The five nominees will be announced Jan. 22, and the ultimate winner on Feb. 22.

Also on the shortlist were Germany’s “The Baader- Meinhof Complex,” which follows the bloody trail of the West German Red Army Faction that terrorized Germans deemed subservient to American and Israeli “imperialism” in the 1960s and 1970s.

The seven other qualifying countries and films are Austria’s “Revanche,” Canada’s “The Necessities of Life,” France’s “The Class,” Japan’s “Departures,” Mexico’s “Tear This Heart Out,” Sweden’s “Everlasting Moments” and Turkey’s “3 Monkeys.”

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‘Waltz With Bashir’ on Oscar shortlist

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