Hochelaga, terre des mes named Canada's foreign-language contender for the Oscars

Hochelaga, terre des mes(Hochelaga, Land of Souls) has been chosen to represent Canadafor the best foreign-language film Oscar.

The filmis an ambitious historical drama about the history of Montreal that spans 750 years.

It follows a Mohawk archeologist called in when a sinkhole inside a sports stadium reveals long-buried artifacts from the city's past.

The film was written and directed by Quebecer Franois Girard, best known for acclaimed dramas including The Red Violin, an international co-production that won an Oscar in 1999 for best original score, and Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould.

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"His dramatic, musical,historic and, I would even say, spiritual film is a monumental work on our origins and our encounter with the first inhabitants of our territory, Indigenous peoples," said Roger Frappier, the film's producer.

"To tread the same ground from1267 to 2017 is quite a journey."

The multilingual film isin French andEnglish, as well as in Indigenous languages, including those spoken by the Mohawkand Algonquin peoples.

Girard said these are the founding languages of Canada, making Hochelaga a step towards reconciliation with the country's Indigenous peoples.

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The road to Oscar glory

Carolle Brabant, the executive director of Telefim Canada, announced Hochelagawould be Canada's foreign-language selection in MontrealMonday afternoon.

The film was chosen by the Telefilm Canada committee comprising government and industry representatives from across the country.

"We look forward to the public supporting this film in this high-profile race,"Brabantsaid.

"We're very proud," said Quebec Culture Minister Luc Fortin. "It shows the level of quality of Quebec cinema."

Girardsaidhis team will nowcampaign to secure the support of the Academy.

Theywill begin working with public relations people inLos Angeles to book screening rooms for the film and networking with industry players.

Of all the films submitted from around the world, the list of contenders will eventually be whittled down to five nominees.

Hochelagafaces some strong competition already, with other international selections Oscar-bound so far including Cannes Palme d'Or-winnerThe Square(representing Switzerland), Angelina Jolie'sFirst They Killed My Father(representingCambodia) and Berlin Film Festival standoutA Fantastic Woman(representing Chile).

The90thAcademy Awardstakeplace March 4, 2018.

A history of French-language selections

The Oscars foreign-language film category is limited to non-American productions primarilyfeaturingdialogue in languages other than English.

Canada's most recent submissions for Oscar consideration included Xavier Dolan'sIt's Only the End of the WorldandMommy,Maxime Giroux'sFlix et MeiraandLouise Archambault'sGabrielle.

Canada's choices have overwhelmingly been French-language movies, although we've also submitted films in other languages as well, including Kim Nguyen's French- and Lingala-language War Witch, Deepa Mehta's Hindi-language Water andAtanarjuat: The Fast RunnerandThe Necessities of Life, both starring main charactersspeaking Inuktitut.

The lone Canadian movie to triumph as best foreign-language Oscar winneris 2003'sThe Barbarian Invasions,directed by Denys Arcand. He had earlier been nominated in the category for his filmsThe Decline of the American EmpireandJesus of Montreal.

Nominations for the 90th Academy Awards will be announced Jan. 23, 2018, with the awards gala set for March 4,2018 a later date due to the 2018 Winter Olympics. Jimmy Kimmel is slated to return as host.