Oscar 2017 Predictions: Georgia selects Karlovy Vary Selection 'House of Others' for the Oscars
"House of Others" has been selected as Georgia's official selection for the Academy Awards. The film premiered at the prestigious Karlovy Vary Film Festival where it competed for the Crystal Globe and scored rave reviews. However, it has yet to receive U.S distribution, which is always an issue if it is to get exposure with the Academy.
The Academy generally nominates films that premiere at the top festivals including Cannes, Toronto, Venice, Berlin and Sundance. Of the past five winners three have premiered at Cannes, one has premiered at Toronto, and one at Berlin.
As a result, "House of Others" seems like a long shot but anything is possible.
Georgia has never been a dominant force at the Academy Awards as it only started competing in 1996 after gaining its independence from the Soviet Union.
The country received its first and only Oscar nomination for its first-ever submission, "A Chef in Love." That film was released by Sony Pictures Classics and was released in an English version in some territories. Georgia then came close to a nomination in 2014 when "Corn Island" made the January shortlist but failed to get nominated. "Corn Island" also premiered at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival but never received U.S distribution.
Last year the country submitted "Moira," a film that premiered at the San Sebastian Film Festival and never garnered strong buzz or distribution.
Every year multiple countries submit films for to compete in the Foreign Language category. Last year Hungary took home the Oscar for "Son of Saul" and competed against 81 other countries.
The deadline for submissions is Oct. 3 with the Academy announcing a list of eligible films later that month. On Jan. 17the Academy will announce the nine finalists from among the eligible films. Nominations will be announced on Jan. 24 and the winner will be announced at the Oscar ceremony on Feb. 26, 2017.
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