Hungary has announced that the critically acclaimed film "Son of Saul" will represent the country at the Academy Awards.

The film, which opens on June 11 in Hungary, is the first submission for this year's Oscars. The submission comes as no surprise as it premiered at Cannes to rave reviews and went home with the Grand Prix and the FIPRESCI prizes. The Hungarian Film Fund, whose committee met on Wednesday, selected the film.

The biggest surprise, however, was the timing, as it is only June and the deadline for submission is Oct. 1. Last year, Poland and Turkey submitted in mid August and those were the first two countries to enter the competition.

"Son of Saul" is already thought of as a front-runner as it was already picked up by Sony Pictures Classics and will be released stateside at the end of the year to qualify for other categories. The film tells the story of Saul Ausländer, a member of the Sonderkommando, the group of Jewish prisoners isolated from Auschwitz in 1944 who were forced to assist the Nazis by cremating the bodies of the dead. The movie is directed by first time director Laszlo Nemes and stars Géza Röhrig.

If Hungary is to score a nomination for "Son of Saul" it will be the country's first nomination since Istvan Szabo's 1988 "Hanussen." Szabo won Hungary's only Oscar in 1981 for "Mephisto." The country's last submission was "White God" which won the Un Certain Regard sidebar at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014.

With the early announcement it will be interesting to see which countries will follow. An early announcement gives the academy enough time to watch the film especially when there will be 80 plus countries submitting a film.

Besides Hungary's entry, there are a number of films that came out of Berlin, Venice and Cannes that can be strong contenders. Sweden could easily submit "A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence" especially after becoming a box office hit in the US and winning the Golden Lion at Venice. Meanwhile Iran could submit "Taxi," the Golden Bear winner at Berlin.

Chile has "The Club" from Pablo Larrain which won the Grand Jury at Berlin and which has U.S. distribution. Germany could submit "Victoria," which was a huge hit at Berlin and which will be distributed by Adopt Films. The film in particular was acclaimed for being shot in one single shot. Colombia will most likely submit Camera d'Or winner "La Tierra y La Sombra" while Croatia will submit "The High Sun" after winning the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard sidebar at Cannes. Ireland is likely to submit "Rams," especially after winning the Un Certain Regard sidebar.

France will likely submit the Palme D'Or winner "Dheepan." The film already has US distribution, which puts it at a favorable position especially if it is to get exposure in other categories. Additionally, it is directed by Jacques Audiard, who is no stranger to Oscars.

The Foreign Film category is one of the most competitive prizes at the Oscars and last year Poland's "Ida" won the award.

The Oscar nominations will be announced in January.

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