OSCAR SUBMISSIONS- The Films from the Middle East and Africa (18 films)

The list is scheduled to come out tomorrow, so here's a brief, rushed overview of the films from The Middle East and Africa

FAVORITES:

1. IRAN- "A Hero"

In a Nutshell: A man imprisoned for an unpaid debt tries to settle his case during two days of home leave. 

Pros: Oscar loves Asghar Farhadi, Also, his films are invariably great. Grand Prix at Cannes. Well-timed cinematic release. Strong reviews. 

Cons: With two Oscars already, will they feel they've rewarded him enough? "A Past" was an early favorite but failed to be shortlisted. 

2. LEBANON- "Costa Brava, Lebanon" 

In A Nutshell: An urban family relocates from Beirut to start a new life on their own in a remote mountainous area. 

Pros: Those who have seen it say the film is total Oscar bait. Nadine Labaki is well-liked. The film has managed to win awards in both the Middle East and Western countries. 

Cons: Reviews are strong, but are they strong enough to advance to the next round? 

STRONG POSSIBILITIES: 

3. JORDAN- "Amira"

In a Nutshell: A young woman idolizes her father, who has been imprisoned for life on charges of terrorism against the Israeli government. When a medical test indicates he is unlikely to be her biological father, the film becomes a mystery, a thriller and an intense family drama. 

Pros: An intriguing mystery that keeps you guessing, a strong lead performance from the teenaged Amira, and parallels with "Omar", which got a surprise Oscar nod in 2014. 

Cons: In December, Jordan asked AMPAS to withdraw the film from consideration. In the past, AMPAS has rejected such politically motivated requests and hopefully they will keep the film in consideration. 

4. IRAQ- "Europa" 

In a Nutshell: An Iraqi asylum seeker tries to reach Europe via the forests of Bulgaria where he faces off against local mercenaries. 

Pros: Strong reviews....Audiences have reportedly been deeply moved....The film features a very topical subject. 

Cons:  At 75 minutes, this is one of the shortest entries and it may feel too spare..... It's one of two films about migrants on the Bulgarian border (see "Fear"). The gritty, low-budget, cinema verite style doesn't usually do well with Oscar. 

5. CHAD- "Lingui"

In a Nutshell: A religious mother must decide whether to help her pregnant 15-year old daughter obtain an illegal abortion. 

Pros: Strongest contender from the African continent. Baity topic. Just made the National Board of Review’s Top Six foreign films of the year (alongside France, Iceland, Norway and winner “A Hero” from Iran). 

Cons: A quiet film from an unknown country has an uphill battle. I haven’t seen “Lingui” yet but Haroun’s films demand patience. 

DARK HORSES

6. PALESTINE- "The Stranger"

In a Nutshell: A doctor in the Golan Heights treats a Syrian fighter who has somehow crossed the impenetrable border.

Pros: Excellent reviews at Venice.

Cons: No real buzz. One of the lesser-known entries this year. 

7. ISRAEL- "Let It Be Morning"

In a Nutshell: An Arab-Israeli family from Jerusalem go to a village wedding during which Israeli forces blockade the road back to their home indefinitely. 

Bottom Line: The film represents a second chance at the Oscars for director Eran Kolirin,  whose "The Band's Visit" was disqualified for featuring too much English. It's a really wonderful satire that manages to be funny and serious. Its one of my personal favorites and it definitely deserves to be in the Top 15. While I expect it will do well, probably not quite well enough to advance. 

8. ALGERIA- "Heliopolis"

In a Nutshell: Set in colonial Algeria during the 1940s, French settlers brutally repress both Algerian independence fighters and pro-French Algerians.  

Bottom Line: This is a gorgeously shot period piece with beautiful sets, authentic costumes and impressive crowd scenes. Reminds me of a Bouchareb film, and he got three Oscar nods. While Algerians will know how everything turns out, I think the Algerian politics will go over the heads of most American audiences. This will do well though likely not make the finals. 

9. SOUTH AFRICA- "Barakat"

In a Nutshell: An aging Muslim widow with four sons reunites the family for Eid, where she plans to tell them of her new romance. 

Bottom Line: Filmed in a distinctive local dialect of Afrikaans, this comedy-drama is supposed to be a real breath of fresh air in South African cinema. Comedies and films in dialect don't always translate, but this is one film that I'm really hoping does well. 

MIDDLE OF THE PACK: 

10. SOMALIA- "Gravedigger's Wife"

In a Nutshell: Set in the African nation of Djibouti, an ethnic Somali gravedigger and his wife desperately try to earn money to fund her medical treatment. 

Bottom Line: This looks like a really excellent film and it’s gotten very good reviews but similar small African family dramas like Sudan’s “I Will Die at 20” have failed to make the next round. I would love for this to surprise. 

11. TURKEY- “Commitment Hasan”

 

In a Nutshell: A man goes on a quixotic quest to remove a state electricity pole from his land 

Bottom Line: Reviews have been all over the place; some say it’s great and some say it’s terrible. Film is overlong. The previous film in Kaplanoglu’s “Commitment” trilogy was awful. 

12. TUNISIA- "Golden Butterfly"

In a Nutshell: A hard-nosed cop is entrusted with the care of a mute boy who is going blind. However, this is described as a fantasy-drama rather than a crime drama/ 

 

Bottom Line: This is supposed to be a really interesting, unusual albeit flawed film. In its review, Variety called it “ambitious but uneven” all the while comparing the visual style to “Pans Labyrinth” and Fellini. I’m excited to see it although this kind of unusual genre-defying film probably isn’t strong enough to score here…Though Tunisia managed last year! 

 13. EGYPT- "Souad"

In a Nutshell: A 17-year old girl obsessed with social media provides an unusual link between her younger sister and an older, male influencer. 

Bottom Line: This is an interesting little film but not one that can expect to advance. Some reviews are mixed. I definitely had some unanswered questions, although that was likely intentional. This would be a great double feature with the Macedonian film.  

14. SAUDI ARABIA- "Tambour of Retribution"

In a Nutshell: A period drama about the forbidden romance between a man from a warrior family and a woman from a family of musicians and entertainers. 

Bottom Line: Though the film got a Netflix deal, I've heard this film may be a little too "local" to get through. I'm waiting to see it with a Saudi friend in January so I can't comment directly. 

BETTER LUCK NEXT YEAR

15. MOROCCO- "Casablanca Beats"

In a Nutshell: Moroccan girls in a disadvantaged neighborhood learn to express themselves through rap and hip-hop. 

Bottom Line: Rap and hip/hop are hard to translate (see "Gully Boy") and the film has some of the weakest critical reviews on the list. Kino Lorber is pushing it but it’s not good enough.

16. CAMEROON- "Hidden Dreams"

In a Nutshell: A Western-educated Cameroonian official is sent to a small village where he clashes with local customs.  

Bottom Line: One of the most obscure films on the list, this low-budget feature is here to represent and promote the country's cinema, but isn't likely to be an Oscar contender. 

17. MALAWI- "Fatsani: Tale of Survival"

In a Nutshell: A little girl is forced to work as a banana seller when her school closes down. 

Bottom Line: Like the Cameroonian film, “Fatsani” is a small, low-budget mainly here to represent the country on the world stage….if it’s not disqualified for having too much English.  

18. KENYA- "Mission to Rescue" 

In a Nutshell: An elite Kenyan military unit leads a rescue mission when a minister is abducted by brutal Somalian terrorists. 

Bottom Line: This patriotic action film made for streaming services is a bit out of its league here. 

Now the statistics:

Genres: 16 dramas, 1 comedy (South Africa) and 1 action movie (Kenya)

 

Number of countries who have participated in the past: 11 from the Middle East and 22 from Africa 

 

Number of countries entering films this year: 8 from the Middle East and 10 from Africa 

 

Number of debuts: Somalia 

 

Who Didn’t Submit?: Most of the absent countries have only submitted once or twice. Nigeria, Ghana and- for the first time- Namibia announced a call for submissions; Namibia and Nigeria later announced none of the submissions met AMPAS eligibility requirements.

 

The only other notable absences are Ethiopia (“Faya Dayi”) and Senegal (“Saloum”). 

 

Already Seen: I’ve seen the films from Algeria (B+), Egypt (B), Israel (A), and Jordan (A-) and I’m trying to get through four more Arabic-language screeners (Iraq, Morocco, Palestine, Saudi) Christmas week. 

 

Films I'm most looking forward to seeing: Definitely Farhadi’s “Hero” and Somalian debutante “Gravedigger’s Wife”. 

 

Big Three Festivals: 

 

Cannes- Chad, Iran (Grand Prix), Iraq, Israel, Morocco, Somalia, Turkey 

Berlin- Egypt 

Venice- Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine 

 

Number of Female Directors: Only three: Mounia Akl (Lebanon), Ayten Amin (Egypt) and Amy Jephta (South Africa). Amin is the first woman to represent Egypt since the country starting sending movies in 1958.

 

Oldest and Youngest Directors: Mahamat-Saleh Haroun (Chad) is 60. Gift Sukez Sukali (Malawi) is 28. 

 

Number of Languages Represented: 10 films out of 18 are in Arabic (including Israel). The other eight are in Afrikaans, Chichewa, French, Persian, Somali, Swahili, Turkish and, thanks to a new rule, Pidgin English (Cameroon). 

 

Number of countries with a realistic chance at making the shortlist: It’s a very strong group! Maybe eleven have a chance? 

 

Most Likely to Get Their First Shortlist Spot: It’s a dead heat between Chad and Iraq. 

 

Buzziest films: Farhadi, of course. 

 

Controversies and Changes: “Amira” was produced by an acclaimed Egyptian director, with the support of the Royal Jordanian Film Commission and the Saudi Arabian Red Sea Film Festival- hardly a “pro-Israel” group. And yet, a malicious social media campaign targeted the film, claiming that it was pro-Israel and offensive to Palestinian prisoners. I’ve seen “Amira” and it’s clear to me that none of these people have seen the film.  

 

However, they have sabotaged the film’s online ratings (a 2.2 on IMDB) and gotten the film pulled from Jordanian cinemas. Jordan announced that they “withdrew” the film from the Oscar race, however voting had already started so I believe the film is still in the running. This is a shame because it’s quite a good film and there’s absolutely nothing pro-Israel in it at all.

 

Oscar History: Five of these directors have been here before. 

 

Of course the most famous is Asghar Farhadi who was selected to represent Iran for the fifth time, winning Oscars for “A Separation” and “The Salesman” but not “About Elly” or “The Past”. 

 

Nabil Ayouch is representing Morocco for the fifth time while Chad’s only international director, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, and Turkey’s Semih Kaplanoğlu are here for the third time (“Abouna”) and “GriGris”; “Honey” and “Commitment Asli”, both of which are awful.) 

 

Egypt’s Mohamed Diab represented his native country with “Clash” before representing Jordan this year with “Amira”. 

 

Most Notable Omissions: The saddest omission is the critically acclaimed black comedy “Feathers”, which got raves at Cannes and was said to be Egypt’s best shot at a nomination in decades. However, vague allegations that the film showed Egypt in a bad light created a controversy at home. Seems Egyptian/Middle Eastern audiences are determined to sabotage any Arab country making the finals this year (see “Amira”).

 

I was also quite shocked to see two-time Oscar nominee Hany Abu Assad’s “Huda’s Salon” fail to represent Palestine.

 

Also out early: “The Exam” (Iraq), “Portrait of Victory” (Israel), “The Alleys” (Jordan; possibly eligible next year?), “Eyimofe” (Nigeria), “Sons of the Sea” (South Africa), “Brother’s Keeper” (Turkey)

 

Familiar Faces: Nadine Labaki (“Costa Brava, Lebanon”) is probably the most recognizable face in the group, although “Amira” is also notable for reuniting the two suicide bomber stars of Oscar nominee “Paradise Now”.

 

Last year's race: I saw 14 of the 18 films submitted from the region last year, including the nominee from Tunisia and the shortlisted films from Iran and Côte d’Ivoire. Sadly, the best film- from Lebanon- failed to advance. My scores: 

 

Cote d’Ivoire (B), Egypt (B+), Iran (B+), Israel (B), Kenya (B+), Lebanon (A), Lesotho (C-), Morocco (A-), Nigeria (B+), Palestine (B), Saudi Arabia (A-), Senegal (B+), Sudan (B+), Tunisia (A-)

 

Not Seen: Cameroon, Jordan, South Africa, Turkey 

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to do the films from The Americas this year.....It's the weakest group....But my ranking is as follows:

FRONTRUNNERS:

1. MEXICO- "Prayers for the Stolen"

2. CANADA- "Drunken Birds"

DARK HORSES

3. COSTA RICA- "Clara Sola"

4. CHILE- "Blanco en blanco"

5. PANAMA- "Plaza Catedral"

MIDDLE OF THE PACK- 

6. COLOMBIA- "Memoria"

7. BRAZIL- "Private Desert"

8. VENEZUELA- "Inner Glow"

HAPPY TO BE COMPETING- 

9. URUGUAY- "Broken Glass Theory"

10. ARGENTINA- "El profugo"

11. HAITI- "Freda"

12. ECUADOR- "Submersible"

NO CHANCE-

13. BOLIVIA- "El gran movimiento"

14. PERU- "Manco Capac"

15. PARAGUAY- "Nothing But the Sun"

16. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC- "Holy Beasts"