All Roads Film Project director Francene Blythe sends word that Australian filmmaker Warwick Thornton’s Samson & Delilah, about two Aboriginal teens, is among nine remaining contenders to become 2009 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film nominees. National Geographic’s All Roads Film Festival—which features works by indigenous and underrepresented minority-culture storytellers—has showcased several of Thornton’s short films over the past few years.
A panel of judges convened by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will winnow the list to five at the end of January and announce them with other 2009 Oscar finalists on February 2, 2010. In partnership with the Academy, All Roads will screen all the Best Foreign Language Film finalists February 26-28 in the Global Glimpses series at Society headquarters.
Other films on the Academy’s short list include El Secreto de Sus Ojos (Argentina); The World Is Big and Salvation Lurks around the Corner (Bulgaria); Un Prophete (France); The White Ribbon (Germany); Ajami (Israel); Kelin (Kazakhstan); Winter in Wartime (The Netherlands); and The Milk of Sorrow (Peru).
Get tickets for winter and spring All Roads events on Bainbridge Island, Washington and in Washington, D.C. Or read more on the All Roads Blog.