Telefilm Canada announces that Xavier Dolan's Mommy is Canada's selection for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 2015

MONTREAL, Sept. 19, 2014 /CNW/ - Telefilm Canada, which chairs the pan-Canadian Oscar selection committee, is pleased to announce that the feature film Mommy, directed by Xavier Dolan, has been selected to represent Canada for consideration in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 87^th Academy Awards, to be held in Hollywood on February 22, 2015.

"For the last several years, Canadian cinema has made waves at the Oscars with strong and audacious films," said Carolle Brabant, Executive Director of Telefilm Canada. "The 2015 Academy Awards is just as promising because the Oscar selection committee has chosen Xavier Dolan's Mommy, which has had a brilliant career since its release. Canada has had five films in nomination for the Best Foreign Language Oscar in five years, which bodes well for Mommy, a work that has profoundly moved Canadian and international audiences. There's no question that members of the Academy will be moved by the film as well."

Nancy Grant, the film's producer at Metafilms, added: "We are honoured and proud to represent Canada in the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar race. We have high expectations for Mommy and we hope that it goes all the way."

Mommy wows audiences at home and abroad
A favourite of audiences and critics alike at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, where it shared the Jury Prize, Mommy has already been sold to more than 50 countries and continues to pursue its career on the festival circuit. The film was hailed at a number of international festivals, including Karlovy Vary, Melbourne, Sydney, Angoulême and Telluride, before its Canadian premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. Mommy is also screening at the San Sebastian International Film Festival, which opens today, along with more than 15 festivals in the next two months.

Mommy is a game-changer for a career that has been marked by passion, daring and creativity since its debut. From I Killed My Mother (J'ai tué ma mère) in 2009, which was submitted to the Academy by Canada for the Oscars in 2010, Heartbeats (Les Amours imaginaires) in 2010, Laurence Anyways in 2012 and Tom at the Farm (Tom à la ferme) in 2013, to Mommy in 2014, Xavier Dolan's work has spoken with a singular and compelling voice. At the young age of 25, Dolan's unique talent has been recognized by over 45 Canadian and international awards.

Mommy was made possible with the financial participation of Telefilm's Canada Feature Film Fund. Produced by Nancy Grant of Metafilms, and by Xavier Dolan, the film is distributed by Entertainment One Films. The film stars Anne Dorval, Suzanne Clément and Antoine Olivier Pilon. Séville International is handling international sales, and the U.S. distributor is Roadside Attractions.

Selection process for the Best Foreign Language Film category
Telefilm coordinates and chairs the pan-Canadian Oscar selection committee, which comprises 23 voting members from Canada's film industry who represent major Canadian government agencies and national film industry associations.

In 2013, a record 76 countries submitted a film for consideration as a possible nominee in the Best Foreign Language Film category to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Only one film per country is accepted, and the selected film must have been produced outside the United States, be primarily in a language other than English, and have been shown in a movie theatre for at least seven consecutive days in its country of origin between October 1, 2013, and September 30, 2014. A shortlist of nine films will be announced early January 2015, and on January 15, 2015, the Academy will subsequently announce the five films to be nominated in the category.

For more information about the Academy's rules.

Canada at the Oscars
In the history of the Oscars, eight Canadian films have been nominated in the Foreign Language Film category: Kim Nguyen's Rebelle (War Witch), at the 2013 Oscars; Philippe Falardeau's Monsieur Lazhar and Agnieszka Holland's In Darkness (a minority coproduction with Poland and Germany), in 2012; Denis Villeneuve's Incendies, in 2011; Deepa Mehta's Water, in 2007; and three films by Denys Arcand: Le Déclin de l'empire américain (The Decline of the American Empire) in 1987, Jésus de Montréal (Jesus of Montreal) in 1990, and Les Invasions barbares (The Barbarian Invasions), which won the coveted award in 2004, the only Canadian film to do so.

Canadian selection committee—87^th annual Academy Awards
Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television (ACCT)
Alberta Media Production Industries Association (AMPIA)
Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA)
Alliance québécoise des techniciens de l'image et du son (AQTIS)
Association québécoise de la production médiatique (AQPM)
Association québécoise des critiques de cinéma (AQCC)
Association des réalisateurs et réalisatrices du Québec (ARRQ)
Canada Council for the Arts
Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA)
Creative Saskatchewan
Creative BC
Directors Guild of Canada
Film and Creative Industries Nova Scotia
Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada
Manitoba Film and Music
National Film Board of Canada
Newfoundland and Labrador Film Development Corporation
Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC)
Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC)
Société des auteurs de radio, télévision et cinéma du Québec (SARTEC)
Tourism, Heritage and Culture—New Brunswick
Union des artistes
Yukon Film & Sound Commission

About Telefilm Canada
Telefilm is dedicated to the cultural, commercial and industrial success of Canada's audiovisual industry. Through its various funding and promotion programs, Telefilm supports dynamic companies and creative talent here at home and around the world. Telefilm also administers the programs of the Canada Media Fund. Visit telefilm.ca and follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/telefilm_canada and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TelefilmCanada.

SOURCE: Telefilm Canada

Media enquiries: Douglas Chow, Head, Public Relations, Telefilm Canada, [phone], ext. 2225 or 1-800-567-0890, [email protected]