Netherlands has submitted "Tonio" to represent the country at the Academy Awards. Directed by award winning helmer Paula van der Oest, the film represents the third time the director is chosen to represent the country. Van der Oest's film "Accused" was submitted in 2014 and made the January shortlist and in 2002 "Zus & Zo" was nominated for the Oscar.

"Tonio" tells the story of a tragic accident that killed writer Hugo Heinen's only son, Tonio van der Heijden, at age 21. The film is based on Heinen's book and is slated to debut in the Netherlands at the end of the month.

The Netherlands has been nominated seven times and has won three Oscars for the films "The Assault" in 1986," "Antonia's Line" in 1995 and "Character" in 1997. The last time the country was nominated was in 2003 for the film "Twin Sisters." The film was a box office hit in the U.S and was released by Miramax.

Last year the country submitted the critical hit "The Paradise Suite." That film premiered at the Seattle and Toronto Film Festivals. It also went on to win major awards in the Netherlands and Sao Paulo Film Festivals. However, it failed to garner sufficient buzz and failed to make the January shortlist.

This year the Netherlands will compete against major festival hits including Venezuela's "From Afar", Bosnia and Herzegovina's "Death in Sarajevo", Iraq's "El Clasico and Germany's "Toni Erdmann." Romania ("Sieranevada"), Sweden ("A Man Called Ove."), Egypt ("Clash"), Georgia ("House of Others") and Belgium ("The Ardennes") have also submitted major films.

In recent years the Academy has awarded "Son of Saul," "Ida," "The Great Beauty," and "A Separation" the best foreign language film of the year.

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.

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