Kosovo among first-time foreign Oscar hopefuls

Kosovo, Malta, Mauritania and Panama have submitted films for the foreign-language Oscar for the first time, among a record 83 movies under consideration, Academy Award organizers said.
Kosovan director Isa Qosja's "Three Windows and a Hanging" is the young Balkan nation's first submission for the 87th Academy Awards, to be held on Sunday, February 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
Malta is represented by Rebecca Cremona's "Simshar," Mauritania by Abderrahmane Sissako's "Timbuktu," and Panama has submitted "Invasion," by Abner Benaim.
The number of films for consideration is the most ever, beating last year's 76. The deadline for submissions -- one per country -- was October 1.
Rules require that films were shown in theaters in their home countries between October 1 last year and September 30 this year.
The long list will be whittled down to nine contenders a week before the January 15 announcement of nominations for all categories at the Oscars, the climax of Hollywood's annual awards season.
The Academy Awards are televised live in more than 225 countries around the globe.
The full list of foreign language contenders can be seen at: www.oscars.org/news/83-countries-competition-2014-foreign-language-film-oscarr.