Incendies fires up Canada's foreign cred at Oscars

Voting members of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences could be forgiven for wondering what exactly qualifies as Canadas official languages.

While the Quebecois cast members speak French, the sound of Arabic is arguably more prominent in Denis Villeneuves film Incendies, which is angling for best foreign film at the Academy Awards ceremony on Feb. 27. A screen adaptation of Wajdi Mouawads acclaimed play, Incendies was principally shot in Jordan and is Canadas fifth-ever contender in this Oscar category.

For one nation to boast such linguistic diversity must be confusing to Academy voters.

Canadas last cinematic export to find a place among the five foreign-film nominees was Water (2006) and the primary language was Hindi. It was appropriate, given that director Deepa Mehta set her drama in the Indian holy city of Varanasi. And of the last 10 films Canada has submitted for consideration in the category, two of them Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001) and The Necessities of Life (2008) featured lead characters who spoke only Inuktituk.

Every year, Canada is one of dozens of countries that submit features for consideration in the hopes that the Oscars may bless them with international exposure. For one nation to boast such linguistic diversity, however, must be confusing to the Academy voters responsible for determining the finalists.

The one language those voters are unlikely to hear in a Canadian film is English. Thats because the Academy limits the foreign-film category to non-American productions that primarily contain non-English dialogue. Though insufficiently "foreign," Anglo-Canadian features have been recognized in other Oscar categories like Atom Egoyans The Sweet Hereafter, nominated for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay in 1998, and Sarah Polleys Away From Her, nominated for Best Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay in 2008.

Given that restriction, its no surprise that the overwhelming majority of Canadas submissions for the foreign-language category over the last 30 years have been Francophone features made in Quebec. The description also applies to the one Canadian feature to ever win that particular honour. Edging out dimly remembered rivals like Evil (Sweden) and Twin Sisters (the Netherlands), The Barbarian Invasions won the Oscar for best foreign-language feature in 2004. It was the third appearance in the category for director Denys Arcand, after nominations for The Decline of the American Empire (1986) and Jesus of Montreal (1989).

Supporters of Canadian film are hoping Incendies will become the second feature to bring home this special prize. Unfortunately, it faces a tough battle. Though much acclaimed at home, director Denis Villeneuve doesnt have Arcands track record at the Academy Awards. Villeneuves first two features, August 32^nd on Earth (1998) and Maelstrom (2000), were previous Canadian submissions, but they didnt make the nomination list. Polytechnique, Villeneuves stark 2009 drama about the Montreal Massacre, was passed over in the submission process last year in favour of Xavier Dolans fest sensation I Killed My Mother. (Polytechnique did, however, win nine Genie Awards, including Best Picture.)

Incendies is up against more formidable competitors than The Barbarian Invasions was in 2004. The one to beat this year is Biutiful. A Mexican production set in Barcelona, the drama also earned a nomination for Javier Bardem, himself no stranger to the Oscar ceremony after best-actor nods for The Sea Inside and Before Night Falls and a win for No Country for Old Men. Biutiful director Alejandro Gonzlez Irritu also received several nominations for his multilingual ensemble drama Babel.

Two of the other filmmakers in this category are returning nominees. Previously nominated for After the Wedding, Danish filmmaker Susanne Bier makes a second appearance with In a Better World, a drama about a doctor facing conflicts both at home in Denmark and abroad in an African refugee camp. A Paris-born actor and filmmaker of Algerian descent, Rachid Bouchareb is back with Outside the Law, a crime saga set against the backdrop of the Algerian independence movement. The film features much of the same cast as Days of Glory, Boucharebs 2006 picture about North African soldiers fighting on behalf of France in the Second World War.

Edging out dimly remembered rivals, Denys Arcand's The Barbarian Invaasions won the Oscar for best foreign-language feature in 2004.

The only other newbie besides Villeneuve is Giorgios Lanthimos, the maker of the Greek nominee Dogtooth. Though the film was a prizewinner at Cannes in 2009 and a critical favourite during its limited release in the U.S. last year and Toronto in January, its appearance at the Oscars was something of a surprise given the often disturbing and graphic nature of Lanthimos blackly comic portrait of an idiosyncratic bourgeois family. (Viewers sensitive to extreme dental duress should consider themselves warned.)

Even if Villeneuve doesnt walk away with the shiny statuette, he can take solace in the knowledge that Incendies has already been judged worthier than many other movies that have earned wide acclaim and major prizes over the past year. Among the official submissions that didnt make the final five: the French drama Of Gods and Men; the Chinese blockbuster Aftershock; and Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, the Thai film that won the Palme dOr at Cannes.

In fact, Incendies has already earned something more valuable than any prize, especially for a Canadian feature a U.S. distribution deal with Sony Pictures Classics. The company that made art-house hits out of films like An Education, The Lives of Others and The Secret in Their Eyes is set to release Villeneuves film in April.

A politically themed mystery from Argentina, The Secret in their Eyes managed to pull off an upset in last years foreign-language category at the Oscars, trumping better-known critical faves like The White Ribbon and A Prophet. It also bears a great resemblance to Incendies. Both films use an investigation into their characters past to show how the traumas of war and violence influence the present. Alas, thats a story thats widely understood, regardless of the language in which its told.