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International Sales Agents are the core of the current international film market system – i.e., the buying and selling of films worldwide. Half of the approximately 450 worldwide ISAs are based in La, the rest spread around the globe, but it matters little in a business sense where they are based. They gather together during the upcoming American Film Market November 6 in Santa Monica, California, in Berlin at the European Film Market February 6, 2014, and at the Cannes Marche in May as well as other events around the world to license rights to their films to distributors coming from every corner of the world. Their films also originate from every corner of the world.

Shoreline has been selling to the international film market since 1992. Morris Ruskin sat down last week for a chat with me here in La. I sum up our discussion as follows, after I add that Morris’ friendship and professionalism (and good taste!), is in general one of the principal reasons we like this film business. When we travel, which is frequent, it is people like Morris who light up the distant locations for us and, while both of us are L.A. based, we often only see each other throughout the year at various film business related events in remote places such as Cannes, Berlin, Bahamas., etc.

Morris Ruskin was born in South Africa to anti-Apartheid parents. He left there, along with parents and three older sisters, at age 9, to move to Boston where his Dad went to Harvard Business School. Then they moved to Bermuda for 3 years. When Morris was 15 his mother attended graduate school at UCLA School of Theater. There he met Athol Fugard, the South African playwright about whom his mother did her dissertation.

Many years later, Morris Executive Produced Master Harold & the Boys and dedicated the movie to his mother. He fell in love with L.A. and the movies in high school in L.A. His best friend lured him into filmmaking through Super 8 films which they recreated --movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Blues Brothers. Attending UCLA he wrote screenplays, some of which were optioned and he became an intern at MTV, an experience he considered at that time to be “the new frontier” of entertainment.

He soon became employed at Zupnik Entertainment Enterprises, staying for 6 years. He began as a script reader, then moved up to become the Director of Development and finally became a Vice President. His high water mark there was as a Co-Producer for the high profile very successful film, Glengarry Glen Ross.

He began Shoreline in 1992 on his own with a financial partner. It started as a production company. He then had operating money to run the company but No income. Projects were set up at New Line, Warner Brothers and various sales companies but they all got stuck in development. He figured out that there were two viable ways to make money in the business – selling movies worldwide and managing talent. Because he worked very closely with the sales company, New Line, on Glengarry Glen Ross, he decided to start a sales company. In 1995 he hired sales people to sell films and within six months he had three films in play. Morris says this meant “we were off to the races”. He then began to pick up / or acquire other films to sell.

He continues to branch out. In 2012 he formed a management company for directors, writers and writer / directors.

When we spoke he was intensely proud of a new film he served as Executive Producer on, Pablo, which was opening the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival this past October. This is a Spanish language feature documentary about graphic artist, trailer and title maker, Pablo Ferro, narrated by Jeff Bridges. Pablo was Kubrick’s title designer. Born in Cuba, he migrated as a teen to New York and had, as Morris expresses it, “a rags to riches and back to rags life”. The documentary is a representation for how difficult it can be to make it as an artist in the business. Perhaps it resonates with Morris as he has been able to successfully balance the art of filmmaking with the business side of selling movies.

For Morris Shoreline is a “purposely eclectic” company. His team acquires and sells feature narrative films and documentaries. They pick up “foreign language” (meaning – non English language) films and art house indies. On the commercial side they sell “genre” pictures, thrillers, horror.

Now that sales are successful, Morris now focuses his daily work on management, production, financing. He has produced approximately fifty films. Two of those films were directed by his high school friend who introduced him to filmmaking through Super 8 movies! Shoreline tends to be very loyal to the filmmakers it works with. If it picks up someone’s finished film, often Morris works with that filmmaker to produce the next film and perhaps even to manage him or her. As a producer Morris has had many award winning films and multiple films in Sundance and at The Toronto International Film Festival.

He has started a film financing company called Watermark. His partners here are the Swiss / London based Blue Pencil Investments. They will raise equity money for films, will give MGs (aka minimum guarantees) and sales advances. They will take all rights to world markets and license them to distributors through Shoreline.

A film he used to outline his way of working was the 2005 Sundance hit Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School, a romantic film about a couple meeting in a charm school, starring Robert Carlyle, Marisa Tomei, John Goodman and a cameo from Danny DeVito. These elements gave it heat for sales – Sundance, good cast, mini majors involved and CAA. Lots of CAA talent were cast in film. CAA was also brought in to sell U.S. rights post and during Sundance. Goldwyn acquired the film for U.S. distribution. For this deal CAA was proof (to the market) that the film had “the best elements”.

Another successful film out of Sundance in 2007 was The Signal which had a Usd $50,000 budget and made over $3 million Usd from the U.S. alone.

Shoreline acquires and sells lots of Spanish language films now. Some recent titles are Rabbit Woman, The Precocious and Brief Life of Sabina Rivas and 7 Boxes which has been to as many as seventy five film festivals.

Morris’ main philosophy for Shoreline films is, “get the films out in the biggest way possible”. Often these days this means going firstly to festivals as there is often no theatrical release. Festivals can lead to or even replace theatrical. Festivals spread the word, help marketing, get films seen and reviewed, and can even mean income when a festival will pay a screening fee.

Some recent titles he is proud of include A Perfect Man with Liev Schreiber which will be released theatrically in North America by IFC on November 1st, A Farewell To Fools with Harvey Keitel and Gerard Depardieu which will be released theatrically in North America by Monterey Media in the Spring. (About Liev Schreiber Morris says “a good name really helps” and he says that sometimes the films with known cast sell best). Also The Geography Club, which premiered at OutFest and will be released theatrically in North America by Breaking Glass on November 15th, the aforementioned 7 Boxes which will also be released theatrically in North America by Breaking Glass in February, and Baal Shem Tov, a Jewish film in clay animation which Morris says is a very rare film medium and because it belongs in a niche which has attracted much attention.

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Shoreline’s website says the following about Morris’ work and career.

During the course of producing more than fifty films, Morris has structured deals that incorporate deferments, soft money and international co-productions in order to create financially-viable motion pictures. These productions focus on bankable genre content and star-driven projects that can secure success in a sometimes-uneven marketplace.

Notable amongst such productions are the modern classic Glengarry Glen Ross (Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Ed Harris, Kevin Spacey, Alan Arkin) which led to an Academy Award Nomination for Al Pacino; The Man from Elysian Fields (Andy Garcia, Mick Jagger, Angelica Huston); The Visit (nominated for four Spirit Awards) and Marilyn Hotchkiss’ Ballroom Dancing & Charm School (John Goodman, Marisa Tomei, Octavia Spencer, Robert Carlyle, Danny DeVito).

Morris is no stranger to the festival circuit having films in the most distinguished festivals worldwide such as the Toronto International Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, and Sundance, where The Signal was sold in a multi million dollar bidding war hours after the world premiere.

Morris’s productions have spanned a variety of genres and locations, from a stereoscopic RealD 3D-animated film based on a comic book being released by Anchor Bay (The Amazing Adventures of the Living Corpse) to a wartime dark comedy starring Harvey Keitel and Gérard Depardieu (A Farewell to Fools). A documentary narrated by Jeff Bridges (Pablo), a co-production shot on location in China ( Wushu Warrior) a comedy that was the opening night gala film at Slamdance (Weirdsville), an action thriller shot in India starring Harvey Keitel (Beeper), a heist crime caper starring

Timothy Olyphant that premiered in The Berlin International Film Festival (High Life) and a South African feature dedicated to Morris’s mother (Master Harold And the Boys).

By consistently developing and acquiring projects that are attractive to domestic and foreign markets alike, Morris has ensured for over twenty years that Shoreline remains a stable yet versatile and ever-evolving organization.

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The website describes Shoreline like this:

Established by Morris Ruskin in 1992, Shoreline Entertainment's Worldwide Sales, Production, and Management divisions comprise one of the longest-running and most-respected film companies in the industry.

Shoreline presents itself via its quality participation at more than 15 major media markets and festivals a year and positions itself to nourish continuous relationships with broadcasters, distributors and festival programmers.

Shoreline has represented numerous award-winning films that have premiered at high profile Festivals such as Sundance, Toronto, Berlin, Tribeca, Rotterdam and San Sebastian, as well as films nominated for Spirit Awards and Golden Globes.

Such films include: The Man From Elysian Fields, 7 Boxes, Father’s Chair, Un Mundo Secreto, Freaky Deaky, Zona Sur, Undertow, Marilyn Hotchkiss’ Ballroom Dancing & Charm School, Weirdsville, High Life, The Signal, and The Maid.

Shoreline’s advertising presence includes a long-standing deal with the Hollywood Reporter for its back cover on the dailies during the Toronto International Film Festival, American Film Market, European Film Market (Berlinale), and Marche Du Film (Cannes).Moreover, Shoreline’s marketing efforts include sponsorship of the Buyers Lounge during the American Film Market. With more than 20 years of experience, Shoreline’s momentum is greater than ever.

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Lastly, some useful links to various that Shoreline supplied to us –

Here is a link to our website:

www.slefilms.com

Here is a link to an article Screen did on Watermark – which is the company we set up with Blue Pencil Investments to finance films -

http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/Pdfs/screendaily-bluepencil.pdf

The number of festivals 7 Boxes has played in to date is 75. It will be released theatrically in North America by Breaking Glass in February. It all started for 7 Boxes in San Sebastian. This year we had Rabbit Woman there, so we hope for the same success. Tom Davia is our director of festivals and alternative theatrical.

Here is a link to all the markets we attend:

http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/markets.html

Here is a link to the YouTube Baby Panda Sneezing that went viral

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAcdvmnZ_GM

From this they made a family adventure film which we picked up. Here is a link to the film on our website:

http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/SneezingBabyPanda.html

We’ve had success with family films and this is a title that is attracting a lot of interest from buyers.

Other hot Afm titles include:

A Perfect Man with Liev Schreiber who has heat from his new show Donavan.

http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/PerfectMan.html

A Farewell to Fools which stars Gerard Depardieu and Harvey Keitel

http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/Ipu.html

The Amazing Adventures of the Living Corpse which was bought by Anchor Bay for North America, UK, Australia and New Zealand.

http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/Corpse.html

Sir Billi which is a family animated film with the voice of Sean Connery.

http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/SirBilli.html

Freaky Deaky which is based on the novel by Elmore Leonard and stars Billy Burke, Christian Slater, Michael Jai White and Crispin Glover.

http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/FreakyDeaky.html

The Geography Club which won the Audience Award at Outfest and will be released theatrically by Breaking Glass in November.

http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/GeographyClub.html

Hidden Moon which stars Wes Bentley

http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/HiddenMoon.html

was nominated for Eight prestigious Silver Goddess Awards, given by the

Mexican Film Press and Critics / Pecime on their 42nd. edition in 2013. The Silver Goddess Award is the most prestigious film award in Mexico.

1) Best Film of the year: Producers Antonio Ruiz, Ray Diaz Gonzalez, Rodrigo Lobo & Pepe

Bojórquez.

2) Best Director: Pepe Bojórquez

3) Best Screenplay: Pepe Bojórquez / David Howard

4) Best Actress: Ana Serradilla Winner

5) Best Supporting Actress: Alejandra Ambrosi

6) Best Actor "Best upcoming Lead Actor": Osvaldo de León

7) Best Female Actress in a feature role: Angélica María

8) Best Original Song: Hidden Moon. Performed by Il Volo. Music by Luis Bacalov. Spanish Lyrics by

Edgar Cortázar / Tony Renis / Humberto Gatica / Massimo Guantini. Produced by Humberto Gatica /

Tony Renis / David Franco. Winner...

The Austin Film Society's latest Essential Cinema Series, "CineSur: Films of Latin America," begins tonight at 7 pm with Zona Sur at the Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar.

In 1962 or 1963, when I still couldn't vote or legally drink in a bar, I lived just a few blocks from the Teatro Panamericano in Dallas, the principal Spanish-language movie theater in el barrio (often dismissively referred to by non-Spanish-speakers as "Little Mexico"). The Panamericano was a beautiful building constructed for the Dallas Little Theatre in the 1930s, and was later purchased by the enterprising J.J. Ródriguez in 1943. While I was more frequently at other theaters experiencing Fellini, Antonioni, Truffaut, Godard, Kurosawa and the products of a dying Hollywood, I have fond memories of seeing Mexican films at the Panamericano.

Macario (Roberto Gavaldón, 1960) was haunting and mystical, while Los hermanos Del Hierro (My Son, the Hero, Ismael Rodríguez, 1961) was an unforgettable Western. While...

Lakeshore Records has announced a soundtrack release for the American Flyer. The album includes the film’s score composed by Mark Kilian (Tsotsi, Rendition, John Carpenter’s The Ward). The soundtrack will be released digitally on July 5, 2011. Audio clips will be added closer the album’s release date. American Flyer is directed by Mark Christensen and centers on a young Mexican boy whose father is killed crossing the Us border and creates a flying machine to take him to Los Angeles. The film starring Danny Trejo and Douglas Spain will be released on DVD on July 5. To find out more about the project, visit the official movie website.

Here’s the album track list:

1. Oh, I’ll Set You Free

2. Bienvenidos a Tijuana

3. Illegal Immigrant Guide Pt. 1

4. Jesus de Rosarito

5. Fate in a Pamphlet

6. Tijuana Tire Run

7. Flying Machine

8. Let the Building Begin

9. Maria’s Story

10. Illegal Immigrant Guide Pt.

HeyUGuys brings you the latest in World Cinema film trailers in association with Film Dates UK.

Each week we’ll be showcasing some of most anticipated foreign releases as well as highlighting a few hidden gems which may have fallen off your radar. It’s no surprise that Hollywood has turned to World Cinema for inspiration in recent years with the number of remakes getting more and more popular.

Whilst it remains to be seen how many of these remakes go on to succeed or stay true to their original story counterparts, we decided it was high-time we turned the spotlight onto the next wave of foreign films to grace our screens.

This week we have 7 new trailers for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

Au Revoir Taipei (Yi ye Taibei) UK Cinema Release Date: Sunday 13th March 2011

Synopsis: A love story takes place over the course of one evening in Taipei.

Jose here (and

First of all here's a picture of Diego Luna to go with what I wrote last week and for all you girls and guys who think he's dreamy.

Next my recommendations from the festival (seek them out whenever they open near you!)

1. Zona Sur (Bolivia, 2009): think Godardian formalism meets The Maid.

2. Lebanon (Israel, 2009): really I don't know what's wrong with Israel! This movie would've been a lock for the foreign language win in the year of The Hurt Locker.

3. Kinatay (Philippines, 2009): not as shocking and perverted as Ebert would have you think but still superb, taut cinema from a remote land.

4. Garapa (Brazil, 2009): if Michael Haneke and Roberto Rossellini had a child and he made a documentary...

5. Tu (A)mor (Spain, 2009): the most heartbreaking film since Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind...and it's ten minutes long!

Pictured to your left is screenwriter Michael Tolkin (The Player,...

At Sundance this year, more than usual activity immediately kicked in among the international buyers and the international sales agents bulking up in preparation for the Berlinale's Efm even as the Us distributors were slow to show much energy in acquisitions. First out of the gate for the Americans was Lionsgate's acquisition of Buried . Next came extended discussions with CAA and Apparition and its ancillary distributor partner Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquistions for Splice for what is rumored $2.5 million while an independent source supplies $20 million P & A. Next came Newmarket's $1 million acquisition of Hesher. The Oprah Winfrey Network acquired Family Affair. Own's documentary film club is being done in partnership with doc film distributor Ro*co Films International. Own, a co-venture between Winfrey's Harpo Prods. and Discovery Communications slated for a January 2011 launch, is planning to create communities nationwide that can screen the films together and participate in a live, moderated panel discussion.

Mexico City -- Shoreline Entertainment has picked up worldwide rights to Panamanian director Abner Benaim's hit feature "Chance."

Co-produced by Benaim's shingle Apertura Films and Matthias Ehrenberg's Colombian production arm Rio Negro Producciones, "Chance" has enjoyed unprecedented success in its native Panama. Freshman helmer Benaim said that in its third week, "Chance" was holding on to the No. 1 spot above "Avatar."

 

"It's a symbolic win, of course," Benaim said. "I don't think (James) Cameron is going to lose sleep over this, but comparatively it's an important figure."

 

The comedy, co-written by Benaim, centers on two mistreated live-in housekeepers who take their employers' families hostage.

 

Uip released the picture on 20 prints in the tiny Panamanian market, a large release by local standards, and it marks the first time that a domestic production there has successfully competed with Hollywood fare. Uip also will release the film in Colombia and several Central American and Caribbean nations.

Sundance put a punctuation mark on this year's festival with their awards announcement -- emcee (and "The Perfect Host" star) David Hyde Pierce rapped the name of nearly every festival film over the Black Eyed Peas' "Boom Boom Pow." (Hyde Pierce joked, "it was Redford's idea.") Here are the winners:

Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Dramatic Film: Debra Granik's "Winter's Bone" (Roadside Attractions picked up the film and will likely distribute in the summer.)

Special Jury Prize for U.S. Dramatic Film: Mark Ruffalo's "Sympathy for Delicious"

Directing Award, Dramatic Category: Eric Mendelsohn for "3 Backyards"

Directing Award, Documentary Category: Leon Gast for "Smash His Camera"

The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini for "Winter's Bone"

Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary: Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington's "Restrepo"

Special Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary: Josh Fox's natural gas drilling doc...

This blog, Latin America in Sundance, will continue to be updated at least up to the day of the World Cinema round tables January 28 which Caroline Libresco inaugurated several years ago. The focus of this blog obviously will be the selection of Latin American films from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia, Cuba, Mexico, and Peru. We shall see if any creates enough of a stir - or what I consider a stir - within my purview of buying and selling (the agents surely will discover the directors and other talent without my prompting) - for a longer span of my attention. The politics of the films also interest me as Latin America is such an integral part of the USA today.

Nalip has this to say about the current state of Latino programming: "... in Nalip's 11th year, this seems worse than slow: it appears that diversity is really on a backburner.

Berlin -- The Berlin film festival's Panorama sidebar is coming back loud and proud this year with a lineup packed with films examining gender identity and the gay movement.

The 2010 Panorama opens Feb. 11 with the Russian film "Jolly Fellows," director Felix Mikhailov's look at the drag queen subculture of a Moscow club.

This year's lineup also features Cheryl Dunye's thriller "The Owls," in which aging lesbians try to get away with murder; and Jake Yuzna's "Open," a series of intertwined love stories featuring gay and trans-gendered partners.

Several of Panorama's documentary selections explores related themes -- such as Crayton Robery's "Making The Boys" about Matt Crowley's ground breaking gay play "The Boys in the Band;" "Cuchillo de Palo," Renate Costa's expose of persecution of homosexuals during the Paraguayan dictatorship and the German doc "Rock Hudson – Dark and Handsome Stranger" from directors Andrew Davies and Andre Schaefer.

The positive energy here is palpable. Everyone is not only happy to be here, but business is brisk. It feels like a natural place for a Latin American market with films, buyers and sellers all discussing Spanish language films con mucho gusto.

A lot of Incaa and Euro money went into this. Held in the magnificent space of Harrods next to Calle Florida where shopping deals rule, and in the Cinemark Theaters on the Rio de la Plata River, well organized with online screenings of films which will continue to be available to participants for the next two months on Cinando, it looks ordained as a key event on the market calendar.

How it will compare to Guadalajara Film Festival and Market in March is a question that hangs in the air. Cinando's participation there goes back four years with its active Co-Production Market.

On reading the list of 1,400 buyers...

Ok I’m back from what seems a decade in Latin America. The most notable real life events come from seeing society’s rich and poor working side by side without seeming to be aware of one another. Days are filled with commerce in Buenos Aires and life in the night (outside of the night clubs) is filled with refuse left from the day and scavengers collecting (and eating!) all that is salvageable.

In Cuba, as the Cubans are fond of saying Castro has democratized poverty, the scale seems to have tipped upwards since my last visit in 2003 after which Bush pulled the plug on travel. It is now legal again under general licenses; Lax hosts a weekly charter as do Miami and New York.

Most notable film events in Buenos Aires’ Ventana Sur, a $3,000,000 event (extravaganza?) which I hope will yield enough business for it to be repeated, perhaps...

There is more here than meets the eye, mainly because the festival organization is so loose that events are not announced, nor are films announced until the day before they show and nobody goes out of his or her way to be especially helpful. It helps somewhat to speak Spanish, but even the Cubans are at sea when it comes to knowing what is going on.

Winners were announced today. The Coral Award for best picture went to Peru's submission for Best Foreign Language Oscar Nomination, La Teta Asustada aka The Milk of Sorrow which premiered in Berlin, special mention and best of Caribean animation went to stop-motion 20 Anos. Association of Cuban cinematographers' prize went to El Secreto de sus Ojos Argentina's submission to the Academy and a Sony Pictures Classics pickup. The prize for the best of revolutionary culture went to La Perdida a Spanish Argentian documentary which premiered in San Sebastian,...

If you asked me what films I'd like to see in the final 5 tally, I would love to see the Academy embrace non-mainstream items such as the Romanian pic from Corneliu Porumboiu (Police, Adjective) and Bong Joon-ho's Mother (South Korea)... - Finally. With a disqualification here and there, the official list of countries competing for a nomination and then Oscar gold have been submitted and now its time to make some prognostications as to who among 65 will make the final five, or final three, since Sony Pictures Classics have a slam dunk in Palme d'or winner Haneke's The White Ribbon and Jacques Audiard's A Prophet - a "second place" winner at Cannes. If you asked me what films I'd like to see in the final 5 tally, I would love to see the Academy embrace non-mainstream items such as the Romanian pic from Corneliu Porumboiu (Police, Adjective) and...

Sundance released their slate for 2010. It includes:43 documentaries on the Middle East12 films about friends who 'discover' something33 movies about people you've never heard about1 comedyHopefully the lineup this year is strong but it doesn't look that way compared to last year. Last year we had Push (Precious), that Lil Wayne documentary that never went anywhere, Mystery Team which might make my top ten, Moon, Mike Tyson documentary, Cold Souls. Just so much last January that was excellent. I hope I don't go out therer and freeze my tail off just to see...I don't know, a documentary about a former Pakistani prime minister or something silly like that.Here's the lineup so far: Premieres To showcase the diversity to contemporary independent cinema, the Sundance Film Festival Premieres section offers the latest work from American and international directors as well as world premieres of highly anticipated films. Presented by Entertainment Weekly.

Sundance released their slate for 2010. It includes:43 documentaries on the Middle East12 films about friends who 'discover' something33 movies about people you've never heard about1 comedyHopefully the lineup this year is strong but it doesn't look that way compared to last year. Last year we had Push (Precious), that Lil Wayne documentary that never went anywhere, Mystery Team which might make my top ten, Moon, Mike Tyson documentary, Cold Souls. Just so much last January that was excellent. I hope I don't go out therer and freeze my tail off just to see...I don't know, a documentary about a former Pakistani prime minister or something silly like that.Here's the lineup so far: U.S. Documentary Competition This year’s 16 films were selected from 862 submissions. Each film is a world premiere. Bhutto(Directors: Jessica Hernandez and Johnny O'Hara; Screenwriter: Johnny O'Hara)—A riveting journey through the life and work of recently assassinated Benazir Bhutto,...

The Sundance Film Festival has unveiled the lineup of films playing in competition from January 21 through January 31, 2010. The early fest typically debuts some of the best films the year has to offer, like 2009’s Precious, (500) Days of Summer, and Moon.

I’m bummed I won’t be in Park City, Utah next month because the lineup looks great, and these are just the films playing in competition. Here’s a few that stood out to me:

The Allen Ginsberg trial film Howl starring James Franco, a documentary by Alex Gibney (a truly great filmmaker) on Jack Abramoff, Mark Ruffalo’s directorial debut Sympathy for Delicious, a doc about Joan Rivers, the directorial debut of “How I Met Your Mother” star Josh Radnor titled Happythankyoumoreplease (I wrote a glowing script review of it here), Hesher with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Natalie Portman, and Blue Valentine starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams.

I...

And the first announcement is upon us and includes quite a few movies we've already reported on.. What does that include?

The incredible looking Estonian drama The Temptation of St. Tony for which we got the exclusive trailer on a while ago. It's by Veiko Õunpuu who did the incredible Sügisball and I'm greatly looking forward to seeing this.

From Spencer Susser, the director of the incredible zombie short I love Sarah Jane comes Hesher, his first feature which stars Jgl!

David Michôd's Australian thriller Animal Kingdom which stars Guy Pearce.

From Taiki Waititi, director of Eagle vs Shark comes Boy which we previously reported on, but then it was known as The Volcano.

Full list after the break!

U.S. Documentary Competition

This year’s 16 films were selected from 862 submissions. Each film is a world premiere.

Bhutto (Directors: Jessica Hernandez and Johnny O'Hara; Screenwriter: Johnny O'Hara)—A riveting...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences unveiled the long list of 65 countries vying for a Best Foreign Language nomination Oscar.

Variety says that a shortlist of nine semi-finalists will be unveiled in January, with the complete nominees to be announced Feb. 2 along with the contenders in the other categories.

The Academy Awards will be presented March 7 at the Kodak Theater.

And now, from Albania to Vietnam, see the complete list right now (I.m proud that my home country of the Philippines has an entry!!!):

Albania, "Alive!," Artan Minarolli, director

Argentina, "El Secreto de Sus Ojos," Juan Jose Campanella, director

Armenia, "Autumn of the Magician," Rouben Kevorkov and Vaheh Kevorkov, directors

Australia, "Samson & Delilah," Warwick Thornton, director

Austria, "For a Moment Freedom," Arash T. Riahi, director

Bangladesh, "Beyond the Circle," Golam Rabbany Biplob, director

Belgium, "The Misfortunates," Felix van Groeningen, director

Bolivia, "Zona Sur," Juan Carlos Valdivia, director

Bosnia and Herzegovina,...

Jacques Audiard's French film "A Prophet," Michael Haneke's German film "The White Ribbon" and Korea's "Mother" -- three films that have figured prominently on this year's festival circuit -- are among the 65 films being considered for the foreign-language film Oscar.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released its list Thursday of the 65 countries that have submitted films for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards.

Nominations will be announced on Feb. 2, and the awards ceremony will be held March 7.

The 2009 submissions follow (click the links on select countries for full stories):

Albania, "Alive!," Artan Minarolli, director;

Argentina, "El Secreto de Sus Ojos," Juan Jose Campanella

Armenia, "Autumn of the Magician," Rouben Kevorkov and Vaheh Kevorkov

Australia, "Samson & Delilah," Warwick Thornton

Austria, "For a Moment Freedom," Arash T. Riahi

Bangladesh, "Beyond the Circle," Golam Rabbany Biplob

Belgium, "The Misfortunates," Felix van Groeningen

Bolivia, "Zona Sur," Juan Carlos Valdivia

Bosnia and Herzegovina,...

Sixty-five countries have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 82nd Academy Awards, Academy President Tom Sherak announced today. The 2009 submissions are:

Albania, Alive!, Artan Minarolli, director;

Argentina, El Secreto de Sus Ojos, Juan Jose Campanella, director;

Armenia, Autumn of the Magician, Rouben Kevorkov and Vaheh Kevorkov, directors;

Australia, Samson & Delilah, Warwick Thornton, director;

Austria, For a Moment Freedom, Arash T. Riahi, director;

Bangladesh, Beyond the Circle, Golam Rabbany Biplob, director;

Belgium, The Misfortunates, Felix van Groeningen, director;

Bolivia, Zona Sur, Juan Carlos Valdivia, director;

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nightguards, Namik Kabil, director;

Brazil, Time of Fear, Sergio Rezende, director;

Bulgaria, The World Is Big and Salvation Lurks around the Corner, Stephan Komandarev, director;

Canada, I Killed My Mother, Xavier Dolan, director;

Chile, Dawson, Isla 10, Miguel Littin, director;

China, Forever Enthralled, Chen Kaige, director;

Colombia, The Wind Journeys, Ciro Guerra, director;

Croatia, Donkey, Antonio Nuic,...

Sixty-five countries have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 82nd Academy Awards®, Academy President Tom Sherak announced today. The 2009 submissions are: Albania, Alive! , Artan Minarolli, director; Argentina, El Secreto de Sus Ojos , Juan Jose Campanella, director; Armenia, Autumn of the Magician , Rouben Kevorkov and Vaheh Kevorkov, directors; Australia, Samson & Delilah , Warwick Thornton, director; Austria, For a Moment Freedom , Arash T. Riahi, director; Bangladesh, Beyond the Circle , Golam Rabbany Biplob, director; Belgium, The Misfortunates , Felix van Groeningen, director; Bolivia, Zona Sur , Juan Carlos Valdivia, director; Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nightguards , Namik Kabil, director; Brazil, Time of Fear ,...