Canada submits a film each year for the best foreign language film category, now known as the best international feature film category. The country's English-language films are ineligible since the Academy Awards rules require a primary language other than English. Most of Canada's entries have been in French with noted exceptions such as Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001) in Inuktitut and Water (2005) in Hindi.
Lionheart from Nigeria is primarily in English, the official language in Nigeria, and was recently disqualified from the Oscars because the film is primarily in English. This would have been Nigeria's first-ever submission to the best international feature film category. The film does contain the Igbo and Hausa languages. The requirements are for primarily a non-English language film.
Some are crying foul, pointing out that films shouldn't be avoided just because they are in English, especially when the country's official language is English. The United Kingdom and Australia have submitted films in other languages for the Academy Awards, but not in English.
They have a good point. Films should be judged on its merits, not the language used.
There is a reason why the Oscars in particular have used the language restriction. If the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada were allowed to enter English-language films, the category would be dominated by, well, likely the United Kingdom and Australia. If the top 10 cut featured a film from United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, that would leave only 6 slots for foreign-language films. That would be rather unfair to limit slots that increase a film's viability on the world stage. We focus on the top 10 cut and final 5 cut because those films deserve recognition.
English is allowed in the category as long as the film is primarily not in English. Felix and Meira is primarily in Yiddish and French, but also has English, Spanish, and Italian.
The Academy Awards rarely recognize performances and films that aren't in English, hence the previous labeling of the best foreign language film category. Films from United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada that are in English have a chance in the primary categories.
Antigone is Canada's entry to the Oscars for Best International Feature Film
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The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award for Best Film Not in the English Language spells it out in the title. Canada has had entries that made the final cut but has not won this award: Jesus of Montréal (1990); The Barbarian Invasions | Les invasions barbares (2003); The Triplets of Belleville (2003); and Incendies (2011).
The Cesar (France) award is for Best Foreign Film, regardless of language. All but one of the Canada entries that made the final cut have been in French but that isn't a requirement. Mommy (2015) is the only Canadian film to win the Cesar. Other Canadian entries are Eastern Promises (2008); I Killed My Mother | J'ai tué ma mère (2010); Heartbeats | Les amours imaginaires (2011); Incendies (2012); Laurence Anyways (2013); and It's Only the End of the World | Juste la fin du monde (2017).
Canada would benefit from a language change. The move might even give English Canadian films a new chance to be discovered on the world stage. Then again, most years the Canadian entry would still be in French. Canada has an unique situation given the dual languages, one of them being English.
Changing the category name from best foreign language film to best international feature film does infer that language is no longer an issue. The rules should apply across the board to protect smaller countries from dominant English-language films even if that means denying English-language films from smaller countries.
Vulture’s Nate Jones notes that the Oscars "trophy has gone to a European country 83 percent of the time, a ratio even the most Fellini-adoring cinephiles might admit is a little overboard." The question is how Lionheart and other such films can get that recognition from the Academy Awards.
The list of submissions to the 92nd Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film will be cut to 10 films on December 16.
video credit: YouTube/EB VideoClips Trailers
photo credit: Felix and Meira film
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