2019-2020 Foreign Oscar Predictions (India to Mauritania)

And here's Group Three: 

  INDIA- No idea. I'm sorry but I'll have to do India last.....It's too much work. 

  INDONESIA- “Bumi Manusia” (This Earth of Mankind)  Indonesian director Joko Anwar publicly implored the Indonesian Academy to send films to the Oscars that have a proven record at international film festivals, instead of the domestic melodramas it’s been sending for a decade.  They seem to have listened; Tarantino-esque western “Marlina the Murderer” was sent last year, and was probably the best Indonesian submission in a decade. This year, Indonesia has only one “festival” film - “Memories of my Body” (Venice Horizons). It has fairly good reviews, and director Garin Nugroho is one of Indonesia’s most respected directors. The problem is that it’s also extremely controversial, and conservative Muslim groups have picketed and forced the film out of most cinemas early (I can confirm it has fulfilled the seven-day requirement).  The film is about a male dancer who plays female roles in a traditional art form known as Lengger, and it was nominated for the Queen Lion in Venice. I’m not sure how the Indonesian Academy will feel about this. “Marlina” was a bold choice. Could they go bolder? Possibly yes, but I think the controversy will be too much for Nugroho and that Indonesia will select one of two period dramas set to be released this summer- “Bumi Manusia” (The Earth of Mankind) or “Perburuan” (The Fugitive). Both are based on historical novels by author Pram Ananta Toer about Indonesia’s colonial period and emerging nationalism. Toer, who was a political prisoner under both the Dutch colonialists and Indonesian dictator Suharto, is a beloved national author. I give the edge to the higher-profile “Bumi Manusia”, about an elite Javanese student who confronts nationalism and racism under Dutch rule. The film will be released in August and it's said to be long and expensive. The book was written in prison and banned in Indonesia under 2005, so it has a great backstory as well. “The Fugitive”, about the final days of Japanese occupation during WWII, would probably be more interesting to a Western audience. But we won’t really know which is the frontrunner until both are released in August. Three other dark horses: “27 Steps of May”, an arthouse film about a young woman trying to recover from a trauma, “Asal Kau Bahagia”, about a man whose beloved girlfriend falls into a coma, and “Kuambil Lagi Hatiku” (I Take My Heart Back), a romance partly in India, which is the first film from the rebooted national film company.

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  IRAN- “Castle of Dreams” In 2012, Iran was the Foreign Film returning champion but their Academy boycotted and refused to send their official submission (“A Cube of Sugar”) because the U.S. didn't ban a YouTube video they didn’t like. Amid the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA and threats of war, I’m wondering if Iran will boycott again this year. I always enjoy seeing the Iranian films so I’m hoping they just quietly send in a movie. The five main contenders are: (1)- “6.5 Toman Per Meter”, a crime drama about the pursuit of a dangerous drug lord, (2)- “Castle of Dreams” about an estranged father forced to take custody of his kids after the death of his ex-wife,  (3)- “Dressage”, a Berlinale thriller about a group of teenage female thieves, (4)- “The Warden”, about a respected prison warden who realizes a death row inmate has escaped, and (5)- “When the Moon Was Full”, about a bride who learns her new husband is a member of a terrorist organization. “Dressage” played at two Class-A festivals (Berlin and Shanghai), while the other four dominated this year’s Fajr Film Festival in Tehran. If Iran sends a film, I think this may come down to “Castle of Dreams”, which just won Best Picture at Shanghai, and “6.5 Toman Per Meter”. Both films have “deserving” directors. Reza Mirkarimi (Dreams) has been chosen three times (though the aforementioned “A Cube of Sugar” wasn't sent), while Saeed Roustavi was considered a strong contender three years ago for “Life+1 Day” and they may choose to make it up to him. With cute kids and a family-oriented story, I'm predicting “Castle of Dreams”, with “Toman” (starring Payman Maadi, the husband from “A Separation”) in second place. “When the Moon Was Full”, which dominated the Fajr Film Festival with awards for Picture, Director and three of the four acting categories, may be a bit controversial but it’s the one I most want to see. I have it ranked third. “The Warden”- set in pre-revolution times with unveiled female characters- and the arthouse “Dressage” would be slightly more daring choices. Other dark horses: “Tehran: City of Love” is probably the best-reviewed Iranian film of the year, but I don’t think it has screened in Iran; “The Truck”, about Yazidi refugees, won Best Screenplay at Fajr and is by a previously submitted director; “Bomb: A Love Story”, reunites the two stars of the Oscar-winning “A Separation”. Unfortunately, despite a multitude of good films to choose from, I’m thinking Iran may be absent this year.

  IRAQ- “A Dream Before Dying” Like Belgium, Iraq is basically run as two separate, independent countries. Most of their Oscar submissions are from the small Kurdish-speaking region in the north and I don’t know of a single Arabic-language film made in Iraq this year. I predict the Iraqis will send “A Dream Before Dying”, a drama about a Kurdish man who works to clear land mines planted by ISIS. Two other Iraqi Kurdish entries appeared at the Duhok International Film Festival for Kurdish cinema, namely “Sacrifice” and “Hero of the Century”. “Sacrifice”, about a couple who married without the consent of their very traditional families, has been more visible so I have that ranked second.

  IRELAND- “Finky” Last year, I predicted that the Irish-language historical thriller “Penance” would be one of the sleepers of the competition but for some reason it was never released in Irish cinemas. Even though director Tom Collins has  represented Ireland twice at the Oscars, the film went directly to TV screens after some limited festival play. So that’s out. Ireland has an interesting new scheme whereby The Irish Film Board and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland will work jointly to produce two Irish-language films each year. The first two recipients are psychological thriller “Finky” and Irish potato famine drama “Arracht”. Although "Arracht" isn't ready yet, "Finky", a fever dream of a film about a thief who ends up in the circus, premiered this month at the Galway Film Festival. Ireland could also choose to send Arabic-language documentary “Gaza”, about a Palestinian family living under the Israeli siege, or multi-lingual “The Cave”, about the recent rescue of a dozen Thai schoolboys from a flooded cave. Both were made by Irish directors and could qualify if they're released. 

 ISRAEL- “Redemption” As usual, Israel will send the Best Picture winner of the Ophir Awards to represent them at the Oscars. The Israeli Film Academy announced the 24 eligible films earlier this year and it’s looking to be a very competitive year. After a thorough review, I predict the five Ophir nominees will be “Chained” (Berlinale Panorama), “The Dive” (Locarno/Toronto; Best Israeli Film, JIFF 2018), “Redemption” (Karlovy Vary 2018), “Synonyms” (winner Berlinale Golden Bear) and “Tel Aviv on Fire” (Venice 2018; Best Picture Seattle), with Keren Yadaya’s upcoming rock opera “Mami” a dark horse if it’s really good. Winning the grand prize at a Class-A Festival like Berlin would normally make the film an automatic choice for Oscar in most countries....so “Synonyms” is the obvious frontrunner. However, I think Ophir voters will surprise us by voting for the more authentically Israeli “Redemption”, over the French-language, Eurocentric “Synonyms”. “Redemption” has gotten strong reviews for its original story of a newly religious rock musician who gets his old band back together to help raise money for his daughter’s cancer treatment. This seems more likely to earn votes than “Synonyms”, a "very arthouse" film about an Israeli who emigrates to France. “Tel Aviv on Fire”, a comedy about Palestinian writers and the Israeli secret service scripting a popular Palestinian soap opera, is the most visible Israeli film of the year but I think it's unlikely Israel will pick an Arabic-language film (although they have twice). “The Dive”, about three siblings meeting after the death of their father, has been widely praised but seems too small to win….Ditto “Chained” (whose director Yaron Shani got an Oscar nomination for “Ajami”), about a hard-edged policeman falsely accused of molestation by a teenager. I predict the third Berlinale entry- father/daughter drama “The Day After I’m Gone”-  will fall by the wayside, but it could also finish in the Final Five.

 ITALY- “Martin Eden” Italy has more Oscars than any other country, though they’ve only been nominated twice in the past twenty years. This year, everyone seems rather certain that Italy will select “The Traitor”...and it’s possible they will. 80-year old Marco Bellocchio is nearing the end of his career, the Italian Academy loves mafia movies, and “The Traitor” was the only Italian film in the main line-up at the Cannes Film Festival. That’s all true, but reviews have been unenthusiastic and Bellocchio has been snubbed (“Vincere”) for better work. It just doesn’t seem like people love the film. I currently have it ranked in third place behind two upcoming releases: glossy biopic “Amazing Leonardo” about the life of Leonardo da Vinci, and “Martin Eden”, a reworking of a classic American novel, now set in 1990s Italy. Cineuropa names it as one of the frontrunners for the Venice Film Festival this year and I think Italy will send it to the Oscars. Other options: Italy had two other films competing at the big festivals: “Piranhas” (Berlinale, Best Screenplay), and “Capri-Revolution” (Venice 2018). One of last year’s Donatello Best Picture nominees (“Euphoria”) is eligible and three previously submitted directors are also in the mix- Paolo Virzi’s breezy murder-mystery “Magical Nights”, Pupi Avati’s creepy horror-drama “Il Signor Diavolo” and Francesca Archibugi’s family drama “Vivere”. Italy usually has a rather long “shortlist” and you can also expect to see rom-com “Bangla” and trafficking drama “The Vice of Hope” on there, plus some documentaries. My predicted Top Five: (in order) “Martin Eden”,  “Amazing Leonardo”, “The Traitor”, “Vivere” and “Signor Diavolo”. All except “The Traitor” are unreleased (Italy frequently chooses late entries), so a lot depends on how each of them fare with critics in the coming months. 

 JAPAN-“We Are Little Zombies”  The Japanese Academy shocked me last year by doing something they haven’t done in years- they chose the critically-acclaimed frontrunner instead of a weird left-field movie nobody had ever heard of. That choice earned Hirokazu Koreeda and “Shoplifters” a well-deserved nomination. This year, Japan has been mostly absent from major film festivals. After much consideration, I predicted Japan would select the quirky drama “37 Seconds” (Berlinale Panorama). It’s the feature debut of short-film director Hikari, and the film has picked up positive notices for its story of a young woman with cerebral palsy trying to navigate family, career and romantic pressures. The director made the brave choice of casting a non-professional actress with cerebral palsy in the lead role, and the film pushes a lot of emotional buttons that will resonate internationally. But Japan isn't releasing the film until 2020, and they've never done a qualifying release....So, I'm replacing the sober, restrained “37 Seconds” with the candy-colored wackiness of “We Are Little Zombies”, a drama about four cynical pre-teen orphans who start a rock band. The film has played at numerous festivals (including Berlinale 14+ and Sundance where it won “Most Original Film”) and most (but not all) critics really seem to like it. And the Japanese Academy seems to like to mix things up. Two other films to watch out for will appeal to older voters- “Every Day A Good Day” is the final film starring beloved actress Kirin Kiki (the “grandmother” from Shoplifters) who died of cancer last year. In the film, Kiki stars as a woman who teaches tea ceremony to young women. It would be a nice way to honor her, and also highlight Japanese culture. “A Long Goodbye” is about a Japanese family dealing with the Alzheimers diagnosis of their patriarch, a respected academic. Director Ryota Nakano was selected two years ago. Less likely: musical-comedy “Dance With Me” looks to be a real crowd-pleaser this summer but may be judged too lightweight; crime drama “First Love” played at Cannes Director’s Fortnight but Takashi Miike’s gleefully bloody carnage has never won favor with Japanese critics; “Kingdom”, a historical drama about ancient China, is by a popular director but may be too commercial; and “Complicity”, an arthouse drama about a Japanese man who befriends an illegal Chinese immigrant, has good reviews but will probably fail to be noticed. 

 JORDAN- “Tiny Souls” Despite a 2016 Oscar nomination for “Theeb”, Jordan hasn’t made a feature film since 2016. They do have two female-helmed movies in the can. Documentary “Tiny Souls”, which follows a Syrian refugee family over the course of four years living in Jordan, is completed. Family drama “Salma’s Home” appears to still be in post-production and likely won’t be ready in time. The latter film, about a man’s two widows trying to live together after being jointly left the family home, will probably be Jordan’s third Oscar submission next year.

  KAZAKHSTAN- “The Secret of a Leader” Last year, Kazakhstan made the shortlist for the third time since 2007. Not bad. This year is a bit blurry but it's notable that out of the twelve local films screened at Kazakhstan's Eurasia Film Festival, only one was selected to compete in the Main Competition, namely “The Secret of A Leader”. It also won the Grand Prize at the 2019 Moscow International Film Festival, marking it as the probable favorite. The film is about a 40-something loser whose encounter with an old friend leads him into an unexpected spiral of criminal activity. Director Farkhat Sharipov made “The Tale of a Pink Hare”, one of the best movies I’ve ever seen from the former Soviet countries. Three other Kazakh films from the Festival look like possible contenders- “Aruakh” (an old man helps raise an orphan on the steppe), “The River” (a rural drama about five young brothers, which played at a number of international festivals, including Toronto and Venice 2018) and “Shyraqshy: Guardian of the Light” (about a Kazakh soldier who is given a movie projector after saving a civilian life in WWII; director Yermek Tursunov got Kazakhstan to the shortlist for “Kelin”) Unlikely but possible: Akan Satayev’s crime drama “Businessmen” or biopic “Baluan Sholak”. Probably not ready: Satayev’s upcoming expensive historical drama “Tomyris”, which I expect won’t premiere before September 30. Ultimately, I expect a showdown between “Secret of a Leader” and “Shyraqshy”. 

 KENYA- “Subira” Kenya’s most likely candidate is “Subira”, a Swahili-language drama that won Best Picture at last year’s national Kalasha Awards (beating the charming “Supa Modo”, which was submitted last year). Filmed over the course of four years, it follows a free-spirited Muslim Kenyan girl from ages 14-18, as conservative society gradually forces her carefree life to change. It looks quite good and director Ravneet Sippy Chadha would potentially be the first woman to represent Kenya. I had previously expected romantic comedy “Disconnected” to contend, but it’s mostly in English and is not eligible.

 KOREA- “Parasite” I don’t have to write much about South Korea this year. With their first-ever Cannes win for the universally praised “Parasite” in an otherwise weak year, they have the easiest decision of all of the large countries. Last year, Korea made it to the shortlist for the first time with the slow-burn arthouse entry “Burning”. They’re desperate for an Oscar nomination and “Parasite” may be their best chance in years. Bong Joon-ho has been selected before (for the underrated “Mother”) so we know the Korean Academy likes him. Consider it a lock. Korea will often reveal a shortlist of films, so you’ll likely see historical dramas (“The King’s Letters”, “The Battle: Roar to Victory”, “A Resistance”), festival films with good reviews (“House of Hummingbird”, “Hotel By the River”) and some other random films (“Swing Kids”, “Unstoppable”) on the list. The films with the best chance to come in second place are probably Berlinale family drama “House of Hummingbird” or “The King’s Letters” (about the Korean alphabet, which will likely be difficult to translate). But thriller “Parasite” is on track to get Korea its second shortlist spot in a row.

 KOSOVO- “Cold November”  Kosovo has two potential submissions this year. I predict they’ll send “Cold November”, a moral dilemma drama about life in Kosovo during Yugoslavia's final days when war was quickly spreading from region to region. It’s gotten strong reviews since its San Sebastian premiere last year. “Aga’s House” was selected to open the prestigious East of the West competition at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival. This coming-of-drama about a boy living in a house full of women is the first feature from a respected local filmmaker and could easily displace “November” if its really good. But I expect Kosovo will open “Aga” after September and have it compete next year.

 KUWAIT- “An Hour of Time” Kuwait has been absent from the Oscar competition since 1978- longer than any other country. On the off chance they choose to return, it would presumably be “An Hour of Time” (Saat Zaman) about a man stranded on an island after escaping his brutal Iraqi captors during the first Gulf War. The film stars a popular comedian in the dramatic leading role.

 KYRGYZSTAN- "Aurora" One of the mysteries of last year is what happened to the Kyrgyz submission. It was announced in late September that Kyrgyzstan had selected "Night Accident" but the film was mysteriously absent from the final list. Assuming they fill out the paperwork, this year I expect that the Kyrgyz will send "Aurora" a quirky film about an unusual cast of Kyrgyz characters spending the day at a Kyrgyz spa in the mountains (I've spent a weekend at one of these Kyrgyz spas! They certainly are strange places!) "Aurora" premiered in Busan and critics say the film is charming and exotic. I hope to see it on the list. 

 LAOS- “Expiration Date” Laos has only submitted a film once, when they sent the charmingly spooky horror film “Dearest Sister” in 2017. Despite talk of a “Lao New Wave”, production has mostly stalled. The only feature I know about is summer rom-com “Expiration Date”. They probably won’t send this. I think they’ll wait until “Raising a Beast” is completed. This project about two rural siblings who dream of being singing stars has gotten pre-production support from a number of prominent festivals

 LATVIA- “Oleg” Latvia has about a half dozen eligible features, though they could end up with more due to a flurry of domestic films scheduled to be released the last few months of 2019. The fact that “Oleg” netted a slot at Cannes Director’s Fortnight and that director Juris Kursietis has been selected once make it the most likely film to be selected. It’s a grim drama about a Russian-Latvian who tries to find work in Belgium without a work permit. “The Mover”, about a blue-collar worker and smuggler who reluctantly agrees to help Jews during WWII-occupied Latvia, won Best Director and a few other awards at the 2018 Latvian Film Awards and is Oleg's strongest competition.  Creepy, claustrophobic thriller “Eva” will come third. There are two other films by previously-submitted directors but I don’t think documentary “The Spoon” (Karlovy Vary) will be a threat, and I doubt thriller “What Silent Gerda Knows” will be released before September 30.

 LEBANON- “Good Morning” After years of trying, Lebanon has now gotten two Oscar nominations in a row. Will they be able to make it three ? Probably not. It’s been a relatively slow year and no country has achieved a triple since Canada from 2010-2012. This year's Lebanese submission is likely to be “Good Morning”, the story of two octogenarian best friends trying to grow old gracefully. It got ten nominations at the national film awards- losing most to the Oscar-nominated “Capernaum”- where it won Best Screenplay. Two potential dark horses are “Are You Glad I’m Here?”, a drama/thriller about the friendship between a traditional housewife and a visiting young American woman (will it have too much English?) and “Yara”, a well-reviewed coming-of-age tale set in rural Lebanon (will they consider it Lebanese, since the director is Iraqi?). Rom-com “Khabsa- What Did I Mess” has gotten good reviews but is probably too light and commercial to be considered.

 LITHUANIA- “Summer Survivors” Lithuania has delayed its Silver Crane Film Awards from the spring to the fall, making it more difficult to figure out what films are resonating with Lithuanian critics. I’m predicting they choose “Summer Survivors” a sensitive study about mental illness, featuring a psychologist treating two young patients at a sanitarium. It played at Toronto and was one of only two Lithuanian films to compete at this year’s Vilnius Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award. Four of Lithuania’s eleven submissions have been documentaries, and a new Oscar rule encourages countries to submit them because it makes them automatically eligible for the Best Documentary Feature award. For that reason, it's very possible Lithuania will choose “Acid Forest” (Locarno), an environmental doc about the damage to a traditional forest caused by local birds. In third place: box-office hit historical drama “Ashes in the Snow” about the Soviet-era deportations that nearly destroyed the Lithuanian nation. Also possible: “Isaac”, about a nationalist haunted by guilt over a murder he committed during WWII, “Nova Lithuania” (Karlovy Vary), about a secret plan to evacuate Lithuania to escape the Nazi and Communist invasions  and “Sasha Was Here” (Tallinn Black Nights), a drama about a couple looking to adopt a baby girl, who are given a rebellious 12-year old boy instead. I'd say all six of these films are very much in the running so it's a very good year for Lithuania. 

 LUXEMBOURG- "Sawah" Tiny Luxembourg is confusing this year. Luxembourg has an active film industry but most of their films are minority co-productions, and many of their majority features are in English. The most promising film of 2019 ("Peitruss") won't be released until October so it isn't eligible. The only 100% eligible film this year is the very local hit comedy "Superchamps Returns", based on a local comic about a paunchy, middle-aged superhero tasked with preserving the safety and security of tiny Luxembourg. It's been very warmly received at home but it's a commercial comedy and Luxembourg is unlikely to send it. Two other films are more likely if they meet the language requirement. Edgy, anti-capitalist animated documentary "Zero Impunity" is in French, Russian and quite a lot of English. But I'm going to predict comedy "Sawah", about an Egyptian DJ trapped in Luxembourg (which he has never heard of) when he is unable to convince the authorities that he is not a migrant or refugee. It's roughly half in Arabic, French and Luxembourgish....and half in English. They'll have to get out their stopwatch. 

  MACEDONIA- “Second Chance” Macedonia technically changed its name this year after twenty years of Greek bullying and threats to veto their applications to join NATO and the EU, but it is still known to most non-Greeks as Macedonia. The Macedonian Academy is a strange one. Whereas most countries use the Foreign Film award to promote their films, in the past six years Macedonia’s selection committee has twice declined to enter the competition even though some fairly well-known directors had submitted their films for consideration. I’ve confirmed that the next film by Macedonia’s only Oscar nominee- Milcho Manchevski’s “Willow”- is not ready. So this is likely to be a battle between two feminist films- “God Exists, Her Name is Petrunija” and “Second Chance”. Winning two awards at Berlinale, “Petrunija” is clearly the favorite. Said to be director Teona Mitevska’s best film yet, it’s about a woman who insists on participating in a traditional ceremony reserved for men only. However, Mitevska’s last film also played in Berlinale and, rather than sending it, Macedonia sent no film at all. That leads me to believe they will select grim societal drama “Second Chance”, featuring three stories centered around the difficulties of motherhood and womanhood. It was the only Macedonian feature at the 2019 Skopje Film Festival. Two dark horses: the Macedonian Academy has a sense of humor and they’ve chosen jet-black comedies three times, meaning they could go with the absurdist (and quite well-liked) “Year of the Monkey”. “Unforgettable Spring in Forgotten Village”, made in the country’s Albanian-speaking community, sounds fascinating (three prostitutes arrive to set up shop in a tiny town) but is unlikely to be selected.

 MALAWI- “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind” A few years ago, we had Oscar winner Angelina Jolie in the Foreign Film race representing Cambodia. This year, we likely will have Chiwetel Ejiofor (“12 Years A Slave”) in the race representing Malawi. The small Southern African country entered the Oscar race for the first time last year with “A Road to Sunrise” and they’re likely to return with the earnest coming-of-age drama “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind”, about a young boy who helps bring cheap wind power to his impoverished village after reading about turbines in a library book. The film won a small prize at Sundance 2019 and I’ve heard that the dialogue is mostly in Chichewa, Malawi's national language. Of course, the film may have difficulty meeting nationality requirements. Though the film was made in Malawi with a local cast and is based on a Malawian novel, the director is British and the crew is international with no locals in leadership roles. It’s very possible this may be one of the films controversially missing from the final list.

 MALAYSIA- “Fly By Night” Malaysia has submitted films four times, though they’ve been absent the past two years. Part of the reason for this is that most of the country’s most acclaimed films are made in Chinese by the ethnic Chinese minority community. Nationalist Malaysia doesn’t seem to be willing to let a Chinese film represent them, so they send nothing at all. I’m wondering if that will change this year with “Fly By Night”, a multi-lingual thriller dominated by Chinese stars and Chinese dialogue. The difference is that the film has an ethnic Malay director (Zahir Omar) whose style of direction the Hollywood Reporter compared to Scorsese and Tarantino. It’s a crime thriller about a bunch of taxi drivers involved in extortion and blackmail. Still, if the Malaysians are too skittish to send a Chinese-language film they could send “Motif”, about a woman police investigator dealing with a missing child case, as well as her own troubled marriage. Chinese-language family drama “Guang” has gotten better reviews than either of these, and it was also one of the first Chinese-language films to get a Best Picture nominee at Malaysia’s national film awards (they used to be banned from competing). They’re a potential dark horse but, as I said, unlikely. 

  MALTA- “Knock Me Up, Knock Me Down” Tiny Malta has only entered the Oscar race once (in 2014) but they do have several Maltese-language films that are eligible this year. Because of Malta’s small size, many domestic films have a few local screenings but do not have a “seven-day release” that would be necessary to qualify them for the Oscars. Experimental drama “Of Time and Sea”, a bizarre and symbolic story about an island inhabited by an old man and his two daughters, represented Malta at the Valletta International Film Festival, but I believe it did not meet the screening requirements when it debuted in Maltese cinemas in December 2018. “Knock Me Up, Knock Me Down” did meet the screening requirements, so that’s my pick. It’s a strange drama about four high-school girls who make a bet about who can get pregnant first by a famous actor. Though it sounds like a skewed “American Pie”, it’s actually a drama that has gotten fairly good reviews. Also possible: “Limestone Cowboy” has been seeking financing for a theatrical release since 2017 and it finally debuted in Maltese cinemas this year. The trailer looks great, but it's about 50% in English. It’s a comedy-drama about an eccentric old man whose decision to run for mayor embarrasses his respectable son. This would be my pick if it has enough Maltese dialogue to qualify.

 MAURITANIA- “Ganda, le dernier griot” Mauritania hasn’t made a feature film since getting an Oscar nod in 2015 for “Timbuktu”. They only have one international director (Abderrahmane Sissako) and he hasn’t made a movie since being nominated. Interestingly enough, Italian director Michela Occhipinti made her debut film “Flesh Out” in Mauritania with a Mauritanian cast...It played in Berlinale Panorama but I doubt it screened in Mauritania and it didn’t have any significant Mauritanian crew, so I don’t think it could represent the country. For the sake of completion, I’ll predict “Ganda, le dernier griot”, a documentary about a famed Malian storyteller, directed by young Mauritanian director Ousmane Diagana. It represented the country at FESPACO 2019.