Foreign film shortlist out

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Friday moved forward with nine potential nominated movies for the next round of voting in the foreign language film category for the 85th Academy Awards, narrowing the field from 71 qualifying films.

There were no major surprises in the winnowed-down lineup, with the list including Austria’s “Amour,” directed by Michael Haneke and winner of the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, as well as France’s “The Intouchables,” directed by Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, which has been a worldwide box-office sensation.

A number of the films have Hollywood connections of one form or another, with familiar actors such as Mads Mikkelsen in Denmark’s “A Royal Affair,” directed by Nikolaj Arcel, and Gael García Bernal in Chile’s “No,” directed by Pablo Larraín.

Rounding out the list: Canada, “War Witch,” directed by Kim Nguyen; Iceland, “The Deep,” directed by Baltasar Kormákur; Norway, “Kon-Tiki,” directed by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg; Romania, “Beyond the Hills,” directed by Cristian Mungiu; Switzerland, “Sister,” directed by Ursula Meier.

Among notable films that did not make the cut were director Lasse Hallström’s Swedish picture “The Hypnotist,” the Italian movie “Caesar Must Die” and the German submission “Barbara.”

The shortlist of nine will be narrowed down to five nominees by specially nominated committees in New York and Los Angeles.