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Oscar Foreign Language Film nominees meet the press

Xinhua, February 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

The directors of 2015 Oscar Best Foreign Language Film nominees met the international press on Friday at the Oscar tent set up here for the upcoming 87th Academy Award ceremony, lobbying for their works.

Films from Poland, Russia, Estonia, Mauritania, and Argentina were nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film this year. All the filmmakers were excited about their works for coming onto one of the most prestigious stages in the world.

"I watched it (Oscar ceremony) every year, I truly enjoyed the day of nomination, I would say that was the best moment for me...," said Damian Szifron, the director of Argentine film "Wild Tales".

Russian film "Leviathan" is one of the most anticipated films this year, which had just received the Golden Globe Award for the best foreign film.

Directed by Russia's Andrey Zvyagintsev, "Leviathan" tells a typical Russian tragedy happening at in a Russian coastal town. The film was also nominated for Palme d'Or on Cannes Film Festival in 2014 and won best screenplay award.

"The general reaction from the audience is polarized, starting anywhere from outrage hatred to a man's gratitude from the audience for having shown the current events, the real currents that taken place in Russia ... most of the reaction has been favorable," Zvyagintsev told Xinhua.

"Ida", the film of young Polish director Pawel Pawlikowski, is adaption of black and white color and the ratio of 4 to 3 aroused the atmosphere of nostalgia.

Pawlikowski told Xinhua: "I remember that time of black and white, and that time the film were 4 by 3 when I was a small kid. I think that thing is a little bit abstract and a little removed from reality, which is in color, you know, and the pictorial feel, you know."

"The photography focuses on the essentials, and strips things down, so I felt it was the right way to go," said Pawlikowski.

The other two nominated films are "Tangerines" and "Timbuktu". Zaza Urushadze, director of "Tangerines", has watched all the other four movies.

"They are all very distinct. They are all different to each other, but they are all beautiful," he said.

The 87th Oscars will take place on Sunday at Hollywood's Dolby Theatre. Endi