Rima
Das'
Assamese
film,
'Village
Rockstars'
which
was
India's
official
entry
for
the
best
"Foreign
Language
Film" category
at
the
Oscars
2019
is
out
of
the
race,
as
as
is
Iram
Haq's
Norwegian
drama
What
Will
People
Say,
starring
Indian
actors.
The
Academy
of
Motion
Pictures
Arts
and
Sciences
on
Monday
announced
that
nine
films
have
advanced
to
the
next
round
of
voting
in
the
Foreign
Language
Film
category
for
the
91st
Academy
Awards,
according
to
the
official
Oscars
website.
Village
Rockstars
revolves
around
a
little
girl
in
a
village
in
Assam
who
wants
to
own
a
guitar
and
form
a
band.
Shot
in
Chhaygaon,
a
village
near
Guwahati,
the
cast
is
made
up
of
untrained
actors,
mostly
local
villagers.
The
lead
role
is
played
by
Rima's
cousin,
Bhanita
Das
who
even
won
the
National
Award
for
the
best
child
actor
for
this
film.
Village
Rockstars
had
picked
up
four
National
awards
this
year-
best
film,
best
editing,
best
location
sound,
and
best
child
actor.
So
far,
Mother
India,
Salaam
Bombay!
and
Lagaan:
Once
Upon
a
Time
in
India
are
the
only
Indian
films
that
made
it
to
the
top
five
in
the
Best
Foreign
language
Film
category
at
the
Academy
Awards,
but
none
have
won
the
honour.
Hopes
were
also
pinned
on
What
Will
People
Say,
which
stars
Indian
actors
Adil
Hussain
and
Ekavali
Khanna.
It
is
set
in
Pakistan
and
Norway
and
traces
how
a
Pakistani
immigrant
family
deals
with
its
teenage
daughter's
affair
with
a
local
boy
in
Norway.
A
total
of
87
films
had
originally
been
considered
in
the
Foreign
Language
Film
category.
Among
the
shortlisted
ones
are
Birds
of
Passage
(Colombia),
The
Guilty
(Denmark),
Never
Look
Away
(Germany),
Shoplifters
(Japan),
Ayka
(Kazakhstan),
Capernaum
(Lebanon),
Roma
(Mexico),
Cold
War
(Poland)
and
Burning
(South
Korea).
Mexican
filmmaker
Alfonso
Cuaron
is
excited
about
Roma
making
it
to
the
list.
"Made
the
shortlist
of
the
Oscars
for
foreign
language," tweeted
the
Academy
Award
winner,
whose
film
is
set
in
the
early
1970s
and
is
a
semi-autobiographical
take
on
his
upbringing
in
Mexico
City.
The
movie,
available
on
Netflix,
is
among
the
front-runners
for
an
Oscar
this
year.
The
Academy
also
announced
shortlists
for
the
Documentary
Feature,
Documentary
Short
Subject,
Make-up
And
Hairstyling,
Music
(Original
Score),
Music
(Original
Song),
Animated
Short
Film,
Live
Action
Short
Film
and
Visual
Effects
categories.
Nominations
for
the
91st
Oscars
will
be
announced
on
January
22,
2019,
over
a
month
ahead
of
the
Oscars
ceremony
which
is
slated
to
be
held
on
February
24,
2019.
(Inputs
from
IANS)