Iran’s Submission to Academy Awards among 9 Shortlisted Films

According to a report by IFP, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced a shortlist of nine pictures competing for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 89th Oscars.

The shortlist was chosen by a host of Academy members, and will be whittled down to five nominees by an Academy committee in January.

The nine films on the Best Foreign Language Film shortlist, by their country of origin:

• Australia, “Tanna,” Bentley Dean, Martin Butler, directors
• Canada, “It’s Only the End of the World,” Xavier Dolan, director
• Denmark, “Land of Mine,” Martin Zandvliet, director
• Germany, “Toni Erdmann,” Maren Ade, director
• Iran, “The Salesman,” Asghar Farhadi, director
• Norway, “The King’s Choice,” Erik Poppe, director
• Russia, “Paradise,” Andrei Konchalovsky, director
• Sweden, “A Man Called Ove,” Hannes Holm, director
• Switzerland, “My Life as a Zucchini,” Claude Barras, director

The Salesman, which premiered in Iran on August 31, was recently nominated for Golden Globe Awards as well.

It also won two prizes in the Cannes Film Festival in May. Lead protagonist Shahab Hosseini won a Palme d’Or for best actor and Farhadi scooped the best screenplay award during the 69th edition of the festival.

The movie is a taut moral drama about a married couple who are acting in Death of a Salesman, a play by Arthur Miller.

In 2012, Farhadi’s A Separation won Iran’s first Oscar for best foreign film.