Oscars 2015: Record 83 countries vie for Foreign Language Academy Award nomination

First-time entrants Kosovo, Malta, Mauritania and Panama are among the record 76 countries vying for Foreign Language Film consideration at the 87th Academy Awards, the Academy announced Thursday.

First-time entrants Kosovo, Malta, Mauritania and Panama are among the record 83 countries vying for Foreign Language Film consideration at the 87th Academy Awards, the Academy announced Thursday.

The past two years were also record years with 76 entries in 2013 and 71 entries in 2012.

Once a shortlist is announced around late December, the films will be winnowed down until five remain for nominations, being announced on Jan. 15, 2015.

UPDATE (12/19): The shortlist has been announced. Those films are highlighted below.

The 2014 submissions are:

• Afghanistan, "A Few Cubic Meters of Love," Jamshid Mahmoudi, director;
• Argentina, "Wild Tales," Damián Szifrón, director;
• Australia, "Charlie's Country," Rolf de Heer, director;
• Austria, "The Dark Valley," Andreas Prochaska, director;
• Azerbaijan, "Nabat," Elchin Musaoglu, director;
• Bangladesh, "Glow of the Firefly," Khalid Mahmood Mithu, director;
• Belgium*, "Two Days, One Night," Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne, directors;
• Bolivia, "Forgotten," Carlos Bolado, director;
• Bosnia and Herzegovina, "With Mom," Faruk Loncarevic, director;
• Brazil, "The Way He Looks," Daniel Ribeiro, director;
• Bulgaria, "Bulgarian Rhapsody," Ivan Nitchev, director;
• Canada, "Mommy," Xavier Dolan, director;
• Chile, "To Kill a Man," Alejandro Fernández Almendras, director;
• China, "The Nightingale," Philippe Muyl, director;
• Colombia, "Mateo," María Gamboa, director;
• Costa Rica, "Red Princesses," Laura Astorga Carrera, director;
• Croatia, "Cowboys," Tomislav Mršic, director;
• Cuba, "Conducta," Ernesto Daranas Serrano, director;
• Czech Republic, "Fair Play," Andrea Sedlácková, director;
• Denmark*, "Sorrow and Joy," Nils Malmros, director;
• Dominican Republic, "Cristo Rey," Leticia Tonos, director;
• Ecuador, "Silence in Dreamland," Tito Molina, director;
• Egypt, "Factory Girl," Mohamed Khan, director;
• Estonia, "Tangerines," Zaza Urushadze, director;
• Ethiopia, "Difret," Zeresenay Berhane Mehari, director;
• Finland, "Concrete Night," Pirjo Honkasalo, director;
• France, "Saint Laurent," Bertrand Bonello, director;
• Georgia, "Corn Island," George Ovashvili, director;
• Germany, "Beloved Sisters," Dominik Graf, director;
• Greece, "Little England," Pantelis Voulgaris, director;
• Hong Kong, "The Golden Era," Ann Hui, director;
• Hungary, "White God," Kornél Mundruczó, director;
• Iceland, "Life in a Fishbowl," Baldvin Zophoníasson, director;
• India, "Liar's Dice," Geetu Mohandas, director;
• Indonesia, "Soekarno," Hanung Bramantyo, director;
• Iran, "Today," Reza Mirkarimi, director;
• Iraq, "Mardan," Batin Ghobadi, director;
• Ireland, "The Gift," Tom Collins, director;
• Israel, "Gett, the Trial of Viviane Amsalem," Ronit Elkabetz and Shlomi Elkabetz, directors;
• Italy*, "Human Capital," Paolo Virzì, director;
• Japan, "The Light Shines Only There," Mipo O, director;
• Kosovo, "Three Windows and a Hanging," Isa Qosja, director; (first-time entrant)
• Kyrgyzstan, "Kurmanjan Datka Queen of the Mountains," Sadyk Sher-Niyaz, director;
• Latvia, "Rocks in My Pockets," Signe Baumane, director;
• Lebanon, "Ghadi," Amin Dora, director;
• Lithuania, "The Gambler," Ignas Jonynas, director;
• Luxembourg, "Never Die Young," Pol Cruchten, director;
• Macedonia, "To the Hilt," Stole Popov, director;
• Malta, "Simshar," Rebecca Cremona, director; (first-time entrant)
• Mauritania, "Timbuktu," Abderrahmane Sissako, director; (first-time entrant)
• Mexico, "Cantinflas," Sebastián del Amo, director;
• Moldova, "The Unsaved," Igor Cobileanski, director;
• Montenegro, "The Kids from the Marx and Engels Street," Nikola Vukcevic, director;
• Morocco, "The Red Moon," Hassan Benjelloun, director;
• Nepal, "Jhola," Yadav Kumar Bhattarai, director;
• Netherlands, "Accused," Paula van der Oest, director;
• New Zealand, "The Dead Lands," Toa Fraser, director;
• Norway, "1001 Grams," Bent Hamer, director;
• Pakistan, "Dukhtar," Afia Nathaniel, director;
• Palestine*, "Eyes of a Thief," Najwa Najjar, director;
• Panama, "Invasion," Abner Benaim, director; (first-time entrant)
• Peru, "The Gospel of the Flesh," Eduardo Mendoza, director;
• Philippines, "Norte, the End of History," Lav Diaz, director;
• Poland, "Ida," Pawel Pawlikowski, director;
• Portugal, "What Now? Remind Me," Joaquim Pinto, director;
• Romania, "The Japanese Dog," Tudor Cristian Jurgiu, director;
• Russia, "Leviathan," Andrey Zvyagintsev, director;
• Serbia, "See You in Montevideo," Dragan Bjelogrlic, director;
• Singapore, "Sayang Disayang," Sanif Olek, director;
• Slovakia, "A Step into the Dark," Miloslav Luther, director;
• Slovenia, "Seduce Me," Marko Šantic, director;
• South Africa, "Elelwani," Ntshavheni Wa Luruli, director;
• South Korea, "Haemoo," Shim Sung-bo, director;
• Spain, "Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed," David Trueba, director;
• Sweden, "Force Majeure," Ruben Östlund, director;
• Switzerland, "The Circle," Stefan Haupt, director;
• Taiwan, "Ice Poison," Midi Z, director;
• Thailand, "The Teacher’s Diary," Nithiwat Tharathorn, director;
• Turkey, "Winter Sleep," Nuri Bilge Ceylan, director;
• Ukraine, "The Guide," Oles Sanin, director;
• United Kingdom, "Little Happiness," Nihat Seven, director;
• Uruguay, "Mr. Kaplan," Álvaro Brechner, director;
• Venezuela, "The Liberator," Alberto Arvelo, director.

*Country nominated for 86th Academy Awards. (Italy won last year with “The Great Beauty.”)

The 87th Academy Awards, for outstanding film achievements of 2014, will be presented on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and will be televised live on ABC and in more than 225 countries worldwide.