With the deadline for the 2015 Oscars foreign film category having approached, a number of new countries having submitted their films, making the category even more competitive.

Among the latest countries to submit was Argentina. The six-time nominee and two-time winner submitted the festival hit "Wild Tales." Directed by Damian Szifron, the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and later went on to premiere at Toronto and Telluride. It was the big hit of the festival circuit and later became a huge box office hit in Argentina.

With Sony Pictures Classics having distribution rights to the film in the U.S., the studio is likely to make formidable campaign for it and could easily be nominated.

Ecuador submitted the Torino Film Festival hit "Silence in Dreamland." The feature played all over the world in a number of festivals, including Montreal and Hamburg. Pundits were curious over the choice, especially since the country had "Holiday," which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and was thought to be the favorite.

"Silence in Dreamland" has no distribution in the U.S. and has not had exposure in the U.S. As a result, it is unlikely the country will get nominated for its first Oscar.

Costa Rica may have a better chance, as it submitted "Red Princesses." The feature was a huge hit in Berlin as it premiered in the Generation 14plus sidebar and scored rave reviews. It also played at the Chicago Latin Film Festival and Raindance Film Festival.

Costa Rica has never been nominated for an Academy Award, but with this Berlin hit, there is a chance.

Russia also has a huge hit with "Leviathan." The Sony Pictures Classics acquisition took home the Best Screenplay award at Cannes and later went on to premiere at Telluride. Sony is releasing the film in December and it will give it the opportunity to compete for other categories.

"Leviathan" is hailed as a front-runner in the category and it may give Russia its 13th nomination and possibly its fifth win.

Other countries that submitted were Australia and Lebanon. Australia chose "Charlie's Country," which premiered at Cannes where it won Best Actor in the Un Certain Regard sidebar and later screened at the Toronto Film Festival.

Lebanon chose "Ghadi," which is slated to premiere at the Busan Film Festival.

South Africa also submitted "Elelwani," which premiered at Berlin and is likely to get the country its third nomination.

A number of countries that have never been nominated also submitted this year.

Egypt chose the celebrated film "The Factory Girl," which world-premiered at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival and won Best Actress.

Bangladesh submitted for the 10th time and chose "Glow of the Firefly." The film had its world premiere at the Brasov International Film Festival in Romania, but has yet to premiere in the U.S.

The U.K. also submitted the Turkish co-production "Little Happiness." Since the Foreign Film category only allows films in a foreign language, the U.K. cannot submit an English language film. This marks one of the few times the country submits for this category.

While the deadline has already expired, there are still a number of countries, which have not revealed their submissions. The Academy is likely to release a full list of films by the end of the week.

With so many contenders, there are a number of countries that front-runners, such as Argentina, Turkey, Poland, Russia, Sweden. Portugal, Germany, Hungary and Italy, also have huge chances with their award-winning films.

The final nine shortlisted films will revealed in January and the final nominations will be revealed the week of January. The Academy Awards will be handed out on Feb. 22.

Related