'Septic Tank' shortlisted in Oscars' Best Foreign Language Film category

 “Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank” has surged forward in the Oscar race by becoming one of 63 films shortlisted for the final nominees in the prestigious award-giving body’s Best Foreign Language Film category.

Singer-actor Kean Cipriano, one of the film’s stars, posted on Twitter on Oct. 16: “’Babae sa Septik Tank’ now OSCARS shortlist contender: entry was accepted. Hope PHL makes it to the 5 Foreign Language Nominees! PLS RT!”

The official nominees will be announced January 2012, while the Oscars’ awards night will take place on February.

Prior to “Septic Tank” (international title: The Woman in the Septic Tank”), a number of Filipino films have already been included in the Best Foreign Language Film shortlist of the Academy. These include Adolf Alix, Jr.’s “Donsol” (2007), and Gil Porters’ “Mga Munting Tinig (Small Voices)” (2002).

“Septic Tank” has received positive reviews from critics and audiences alike since it was released during the most recent festival season of the Cinemalaya in July. It garnered several accolades at the Cinemalaya awards night, namely Best Screenplay (Chris Martinez), Best Director (Marlon Rivera), Best Film, Audience Choice Award, and Best Actress (Eugene Domingo), all under the festival’s New Breed category.

It has also been invited to several festivals abroad, such as the Busan International Film Festival, Hawaii International Film Festival, Tokyo Film Festival, and Udine Far East Film Festival. More, “Septic Tank” has been nominations in the 42nd Berlin International Film Festival (in the Cinema Fairbindet Award and Best First Feature Award categories), as well as in the Vancouver International Film Festival (for the Dragons & Tigers Award for Young Cinema).

Here’s the rest of the shortlisted films (and their corresponding directors) for the 84th Academy Awards:

1. Albania: "Amnesty,” Bujar Alimani
2. Argentina: "Aballay," Fernando Spiner
3. Austria: "Breathing," Karl Markovics
4. Belgium: "Bullhead," Michael R. Roskam
5. Bosnia and Herzegovina: "Belvedere," Ahmed Imamovic
6. Brazil: "Elite Squad: The Enemy Within," José Padilha
7. Bulgaria: "Tilt," Viktor Chouchkov, Jr.
8. Canada: "Monsieur Lazhar," Philippe Falardeau
9. Chile: "Violeta Went to Heaven" (Andrés Wood)
10. China: "The Flowers of War," Zhang Yimou
11. Colombia: "The Colors of the Mountain," Carlos César Arbeláez
12. Croatia: "72 Days," Danilo Serbedzija
13. Cuba: "Havanastation," Ian Padrón
14. Czech Republic: "Alois Nebel," Tomás Lunák
15. Denmark: "Superclásico," Ole Christian Madsen
16. Dominican Republic: "Love Child," Leticia Tonos
17. Egypt: "Lust." Khaled el Hagar
18. Estonia: "Letters to Angel." Sulev Keedus
19. Finland: "Le Havre," Aki Kaurismäki
20. France: "Declaration of War," Valérie Donzelli
21. Georgia: "Chantrapas," Otar Iosseliani
22. Germany: "Pina," Wim Wenders
23. Greece: "Attenberg," Athina Rachel Tsangari
24. Hong Kong: "A Simple Life," Ann Hui
25. Hungary: "The Turin Horse," Béela Tarr
26. Iceland: "Volcano," Rúnar Rúnarsson
27. India: "Abu, Son of Adam," Salim Ahamed
28. Indonesia: "Under the Protection of Ka'Bah," Hanny R. Saputra
29. Iran: "A Separation," Asghar Farhadi
30. Ireland: "As If I Am Not There," Juanita Wilson
31. Israel: "Footnote," Joseph Cedar
32. Italy: "Terraferma," Emanuele Crialese
33. Japan: "Postcard," Kaneto Shindo
34. Kazakhstan: "Returning to the ‘A,’" Egor Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky
35. Lebanon: "Where Do We Go Now?" Nadine Labaki
36. Lithuania: "Back to Your Arms," Kristijonas Vildziunas
37. Macedonia: "Punk Is Not Dead," Vladimir Blazevski
38. Mexico: "Miss Bala," Gerardo Naranjo
39. Morocco: "Omar Killed Me," Roschdy Zem
40. Netherlands: "Sonny Boy," Maria Peters
41. New Zealand: "The Orator," Tusi Tamasese
42. Norway: "Happy, Happy," Anne Sewitsky
43. Peru: "October," Diego Vega and Daniel Vega
44. Poland: "In Darkness," Agnieszka Holland
45. Portugal: "José and Pilar," Miguel Gonçalves Mendes
46. Romania: "Morgen," Marian Crisan
47. Russia: "Burnt by the Sun 2: The Citadel," Nikita Mikhalkov
48. Serbia: "Montevideo: Taste of a Dream," Dragan Bjelogrlić
49. Singapore: "Tatsumi," Eric Khoo
50. Slovak Republic: "Gypsy," Martin Sulík
51. South Africa: "Beauty," Oliver Hermanus
52. South Korea: "The Front Line," Jang Hun
53. Spain: "Black Bread," Agusti Villaronga
54. Sweden: "Beyond," Pernilla August
55. Switzerland: "Summer Games," Rolando Collas
56. Taiwan: "Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale," Wei Te-sheng
57. Thailand: "Kon Khon," Sarunyu Wongkrachang
58. Turkey: "Once upon a Time in Anatolia," Nuri Bilge Ceylan
59. United Kingdom: "Patagonia," Marc Evans
60. Uruguay: "The Silent House," Gustavo Hernández
61. Venezuela: "Rumble of the Stones," Alejandro Bellame Palacios
62. Vietnam: "The Prince and the Pagoda Boy," Luu Trong Ninh

By ROWENA JOY A. SANCHEZ
Manila Bulletin

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