This year's foreign film Oscar contenders make a truly international short list.
Among the hopefuls is Belgium Michael R. Roskam's directorial debut "Bullhead", a film depicting the world of the Belgian meat industry, where illegal growth hormones are injected into cattle.
"Bullhead" is deeply rooted in Belgium's Flanders region, but with an Academy Award honour in sight, it stands a good chance at reaching a more international audience.
SOUNDBITE: Michael R. Roskam, Bullhead Film Director, saying (English)
"What I tried to do is making a movie as authentic as I could make it, in a real Belgian soil, a real Belgian story, ... and I think the way also that I'm kind of influence a lot by American cinema has made this movie at the same time quite exotic maybe and familiar at the same time for the, let's say, the U.S. audience."
Roskam now hopes the nomination will make it easier to secure financing for future projects and perhaps even allow him to take a shot at Hollywood himself.
SOUNDBITE: Michael R. Roskam, Bullhead Film Director, saying (English)
"Scorsese or the Coen Brothers and Orson Wells, John Ford, John Hughes and all those guys, you know. They all did it that way and hopefully I would just love to step in that tradition you know as the new kid of the family that could do something like those guys, my grandfathers and uncles and all this, I'm the little cousin coming up like 'Can I make a movie too?'"
"Bullhead" has already enjoyed some awards success, with wins for Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor at the Austin Fantastic Festival.
For leading actor Matthias Schoenarts it's the first feature film.
SOUNDBITE: Matthias Schoenaerts, leading actor, saying (English)
"An Oscar nomination, it's just, it's just crazy stuff. It's, it's the most prestigious award you can get as a moviemaker and, and, and to get that as a, with your first film is just mind-blowing."
"Bullhead" is only the sixth Belgian film to be nominated for an Oscar and would have to beat the odds on February 26 to win over stiff competition from Iran, Israel, Canada and Poland.
Kathi Urban, Reuters
