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Russian drama ‘Beanpole’ to face fierce competition for Oscars nomination, producer says

The race for the 2019 Academy Award for Best International Feature Film is extra tough this year, according to the producer

© Pioner film company

MOSCOW, December 17. /TASS/. The Russian historical drama film ‘Beanpole’ has been shortlisted for the 2019 Academy Award for Best International Feature Film but will be vying for the official nomination alongside serious competitors, the film’s producer Alexander Rodnyansky said on Tuesday.

"Let’s not rush into anything, we are only halfway there with the shortlist and will face stiff competition to make top 5 nominees," Rodnyansky’s press office quoted him as saying in a comment for TASS.

The race for the 2019 Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (previously awarded as Best Foreign Language Film) is extra tough this year, the producer reiterated. "There are Cannes Film Festival winners among the ten shortlisted films, as well as winners of other major film festivals in Venice, Sundance and Telluride. It won’t be easy," he explained.

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Russian film 'Beanpole' on short list for Oscars

Rodnyansky emphasized that being shortlisted for the 2019 Academy Awards is an "important occasion for the Russian cinema, an unprecedented one even." Two more Russian films made the Oscars shortlist alongside ‘Beanpole’, namely an animated short film by Konstantin Bronzit and a documentary feature by Viktor Kosakovsky. "I am enormously happy for my colleagues and extend my congratulations to them," the producer said.

"But I am most happy for young writer Kantemir Balagov and his just as young co-writers - cinematographer Kseniya Sereda, actresses Viktoria Miroshnichenko and Vasilisa Perelygina who made their debuts in ‘Beanpole’," the film producer continued. "And, of course, for everyone else who worked to make this film happen."

‘Beanpole’ is a historical drama set in 1945 post-siege Leningrad that centers on two wartime friends who are trying to return to normal peaceful life after the war. The film debuted on the world stage at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival in May where it was selected for the Un Certain Regard section and won two awards. The official list of 2019 Academy Award nominees will be revealed on January 13, 2020 while the ceremony will take place in Los Angeles on February 9.

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