AWARDS WATCH ‘08 | Foreign Language Oscar Race May Offer Fewer Surprises and Acquisitions

This year’s list of submissions, arguably, includes few of the powerhouses of past years, however. 2008 nominees such as Picturehouse‘s “Mongol” and Sony Pictures Classics’ “The Counterfeiters,” which won the Oscar, remain the top two foreign-grossers of this year, each making nearly $6 million. For the record, the year’s other top foreign titles are Music Box Films’ “Tell No One” ($5.5M), Sony Classics’ “The Band’s Visit” ($3M), Samuel Goldwyn‘s “Roman de Gare” ($1.9M) and IFC Films’ “4 Months, 3 Days, 2 Days” ($1.2M).

But while this year’s leading contenders from Sony Classics, “Waltz with Bashir,” a weighty animated docu-like film about guilt and war, and “The Class,” a verite-style high school portrait, should do well when released in December, they are commercially modest, not likely to penetrate American theaters with the same gusto as an Italian heart-warmer, World War II drama, Almodovar picture or Chinese martial arts adventure.

U.S. audiences will also be seeing fewer of this year’s collection. So far, only 11 films have a scheduled U.S. release, nearly half of which are being handled by IFC Films. (IFC has five titles, Sony Pictures Classics has three, while New Yorker Films, Film Movement, and Regent Releasing each have one). Last year, at this time, at least 16 Oscar submissions had U.S. distribution, from at least ten different distributors. With film companies such as Tartan and Picturehouse no longer in existence, and others scaling back or running scared from subtitled movies, foreign-language films continue to be hot potatoes in the States.

Then again, smaller U.S. distributors are eyeing the list of films, and an array of companies are stepping into fill the void. Regent Releasing, for example, just announced it had acquired Iran’s entry, Majid Majidi‘s “The Song of Sparrows,” after making an ambitious trio of foreign acquisitions out of Toronto, including Kiyoshi Kurosawa‘s “Tokyo Sonata,” the animated Israeli film “$9.99” and Brillante Mendoza‘s “Serbis.” “We’re ramping up our slate through ‘08 and ‘09 and expanding our offerings,” says Regent VP of theatrical marketing Jonathan Aubry.

Additionally, Music Box Films has been emboldened by the success of “Tell No One”; Strand Releasing has had one of its better years with Claude Miller‘s “A Secret” and Germany’s ‘07 Oscar submission “The Edge of Heaven”; and Film Movement, which recently escalated its theatrical activities with the hire of New Yorker Films’ Rebeca Conget, had its biggest grosser this year ($240,000) with “The Grocer’s Son.”

A scene from Ari Folman’s “Waltz With Bashir.” Image courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

While distributors are skeptical that getting an Oscar nomination—or even a win—for best foreign-language film will boost a film’s theatrical performance, companies are still paying attention to this year’s submissions. Films such as Kazakhstan Cannes winner “Tulpan,” Austria’s prostitute love story “Revanche” and Poland’s smalltown portrait “Tricks” are among some of the films distributors are eyeing.

“We are definitely looking,” says Strand Releasing’s Jon Gerrans. “Although I’m not sure it’s worth acquiring a title just because it is the country’s nomination though. It’s a costly gamble with the odds of paying off too slim to be reasonable.”

Kino International‘s Gary Palmucci, however, says he wishes the company had a film in the running. In last year’s race, the company handled Israeli nominee “Beaufort”; while the film tanked in theaters, he says the nomination “made a big difference on ‘Beaufort’s’ DVD performance so far: 11,000 units and counting.”

Arianna Bocco, acquisitions VP of IFC Films, which is by far the most prolific acquirer right now, says she’s actively checking out several new submissions, though being a country’s entry, she admits, does little to convince them to purchase a film. “At the end of the day, we will either buy the film or not, because it’s a good film,” she says.

“We will look at the list when it comes out,” agrees Film Movement’s Adley Gartenstein, who picked up three Oscar submissions last year and says he’s already pursuing a couple of this year’s offerings. “If there’s a title we haven’t seen,” he says, “it will make us see it. If there’s a movie we’ve seen and it got lost in the shuffle, we may put it on the top of the heap.”

Those films already acquired by U.S. companies have a leg up in terms of angling for an actual Oscar slot. While there’s little a distributor can do to sway Oscar voters, says IFC’s Ryan Werner, they can push hard to get the word out about a film. “We just try to get them out there as much as possible,” he says, noting that the AFI Fest in November can be useful in raising awareness. For IFC’s Italian mafia release “Gomorrah,” for example, Werner says Martin Scorsese recently hosted a screening of the film. And they’re also relying on foreign consulates and other special events to push their contenders.

Because, after all, for the foreign-language Oscar, it’s not just about a film vying for the prize, but an entire country’s pride at stake. The award may mean little to the average American consumer, but it can prove a powerful symbol for a national cinema.