‘Bwakaw’ does not make it to Oscars

MANILA, Philippines – The 85th Academy Awards has released the shortlist of nominees for foreign Oscars.

Filipino movie Bwakaw starring Eddie Garcia and dog Princess (directed by Jun Lana) is not on the list.

Here is the shortlist of candidates for Best Foreign Language Film as listed by Indie Wire on December 21:

1) Amour – Michael Haneke, director (Austria)

2) War Witch – Kim Nguyen, director (Canada)

3) No – Pablo Larraín, director (Chile)

4) A Royal Affair – Nikolaj Arcel, director (Denmark)

5) The Intouchables – Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, directors (France)

6) The Deep – Baltasar Kormákur, director (Iceland)

7) Kon-Tiki – Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, directors (Norway)

8) Beyond the Hills – Cristian Mungiu, director (Romania)

9) Sister – Ursula Meier, director (Switzerland)

These films advance to phase two of voting, which will bring down the list to 5.

A statement from the Academy published in Indie Wire reads:     

“Foreign Language Film nominations for 2012 are again being determined in two phases.

“The Phase I committee, consisting of several hundred Los Angeles-based members, screened the 71 eligible films between mid-October and December 17. The group’s top six choices, augmented by three additional selections voted by the Academy’s Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee, constitute the shortlist.

“The shortlist will be winnowed down to the five nominees by specially invited committees in New York and Los Angeles. They will spend Friday, January 4, through Sunday, January 6, viewing three films each day and then casting their ballots.”

The list began with 71 films from around the world, including Bwakaw.

The final list of nominees for the 85th Academy Awards will be announced on January 10, 2013 (January 11 Manila time). – Rappler.com