Oscar 2017 Predictions: London Film Festival favorite 'Lost in Munich' will represent Czech Republic at the Oscars
Czech Republic has submitted "Lost in Munich" to represent the country at the Oscars. The film was directed by Petr Zelenka and made its world premiere at the London Film Festival last year. It later went on to play at the Karlovy Vary, Vancouver and Bratislava Film Festivals.
The movie tells the story of a 90 year old gray parrot, who formerly living with Edouard Daladier, the French prime minister responsible for signing the Munich Treaty, comes to Prague to give his "account" of the past events. While the film has yet to receive U.S distribution, Czech Republic could still obtain an Oscar nomination.
That is because ever since 1994 the country has been submitting to the Academy and in 1995 it won its first Oscar for the film "Kolya." The film also won the Golden Globe and premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Czech Republic was later nominated in 2000 and 2003 for the films "Divided We Fall" and "Želary."
Since then the country has submitted regularly but has not made the January shortlist or been nominated. Last year the country submitted "Home Care." The film premiered to rave reviews at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival but never quite took off.
If "Lost in Munich" is to take off it must first compete against strong contenders "Desierto," "Neruda" and "From Afar." It will also have to compete against "Death in Sarajevo," "Letters from War," "On the Other Side." "Toni Erdmann," "Julietta," and "The Happiest Day in the Life of the Olli Maki'
The Academy is known for choosing some of the most critically acclaimed films out of the festival circuit. Most films that win have distribution deals lined up out festivals and have buzz from the beginning of awards season. Recently "Son of Saul," "Ida," "The Great Beauty," and "A Separation" won the Best Foreign language category.
The deadline to submit for the foreign language category is Oct. 3. On Jan. 17 the Academy will announce the nine finalists from among the eligible films and on Jan. 24 nominations will be announced. The winner will be announced at the Oscar ceremony on Feb. 26, 2017.