MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th December, 2019) Russian film "Beanpole" is among the 10 final contenders to win the best International Feature Film award at the Oscars next year, the academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Monday.
The critically appraised drama will contend with such international heavy-hitters as South Korea's "Parasite" and Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar's "Pain and Glory," all of which has been dominating the 2019 film festival circuits.
The shortlist of 10 films from as many nations was selected from 93 initial applicants, with the final list of five nominees to be announced mid-January 2020. The award ceremony, already in its 92nd year, is scheduled for February 10 next year.
The somber drama "Beanpole," written and directed by young Russian filmmaker Kantemir Balagov, depicts two women attempting to rebuild their lives in post-blockade Leningrad immediately after the end of World War II. The film took the critics' choice award, FIPRESCI, while Balagov won best director in the special category "Un Certain Regard" at the Cannes Film Festival in France earlier this year.
Bong Joon-ho's "Parasite" remains heavy favorite to take the award, having won the Cannes' main prize, the Palme D'Or.
