Oscars’ foreign film entries at Istanbul Modern screenings

ISTANBUL

As the 91st Academy Awards are approaching, Istanbul Modern Cinema offers a reminder of the entries for the “Best Foreign Language Film” category. 

Featuring a selection from the submissions from 87 countries cited to compete in the Oscar race, the program represents a category that brings together films from diverse cultures and languages, which were big hits in world festivals and, despite being Oscar-nominated, are outside the Hollywood track. 

The program includes Lee Chang-Dong’s poetic and mysterious film “Burning” (Beoning) based on a story by Haruki Murakami, as well as Lebanon’s candidate and Cannes Jury Prize-winner “Capernaum” helmed by Nadine Labaki. 

Also featured in the program are Ukraine’s entry “Donbass” by Sergei Loznitsa, who won the award for Best Director in Cannes’s Un Certain Regard category, and Belgium’s submission “Girl,” which focuses on Lara, a transgender teenager striving to become a ballerina. 

The program will be shown between Jan. 10 and 27, and all screenings have Turkish subtitles.