Canada Picks "Mother" For Oscars

A scene from Xavier Dolan's "I Killed My Mother." Image courtesy of TIFF.

Telefilm Canada has announced that Xavier Dolan's "I Killed My Mother" (J’ai tué ma mère) has been submitted for nomination as Best Foreign Language Film at the 82nd annual Academy Awards. It was selected among 18 eligible films from a committee comprised of 24 voting members representing major film industry associations and government agencies.

“A Canadian film in the race for the Oscars provides outstanding exposure for Canadian productions among domestic as well as international audiences,” stated Sheila de La Varende, Telefilm Canada’s Director of National and International Business Development, in a statement. “We applaud the precious work accomplished over the past few weeks by the selection committee, which gathers together industry representatives from all regions of Canada.”

"Mother" - written, directed, starring and produced by the 20-year old Dolan - details the intensely volatile relationship between a gay 16-year-old, Hubert (Dolan), and his mother, Chantale (Anne Dorval, noted by indieWIRE's poll of critics and bloggers as one of the best performances at TIFF). The film builds through a series of richly hysterical conflicts that find these two characters exceedingly incapable of living with or without one another.

Read indieWIRE's review of the film here, and check back with us tomorrow for a full list of currently announced foreign language film submissions.