Tom Collins' bi-lingual Irish feature ‘Kings’ is amongst the record number of 63 films that will compete for Foreign Language Film Oscar at the 2008 Academy Awards.
The short-list includes Cristian Mungiu’s Palm d’Or winner ‘4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days’; Denys Arcand’s ‘Days of Darkness’ from Canada; multi-award winning director Johnnie To’s ‘Exiled’ from Hong Kong and animated feature ‘Persepolis’ from France, which features the voice of veteran actress Catherine Deneuve (8 Femmes, Belle Maman) and picked up the Jury award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Having been put forward by the Irish Film & Television Academy, this is the first year an Irish film will compete for the Foreign Language Oscar. Ireland’s ‘Kings’ joins Azerbaijan’s entry ‘Caucasia’ as the only first time submitters in ‘07.
‘Kings’ starring Colm Meaney (Intermission, Layer Cake), Donal O’Kelly and Brendan Conroy was shot in Belfast, London and Dublin in 2006, and tells the evocative story of a group of young men who left the west of Ireland for London in the mid 1970s, hoping for a better life overseas. Thirty years on they reunite to mark the passing of the youngest of the group and reflect on how life has treated them since they left their home country.
Nominations for the 80th Academy Awards will be announced on January 22nd 2008, with the Oscars handed out at the awards night on February 24th at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood and Highland Center, broadcast live by the ABC Television Network.
