As I said before, the October 1 “deadline” for Best Foreign Language Film submissions isn’t quite as rigid as it sounds: assorted additions and alterations tend to be made before the Academy officially announces the list.
The first of these late developments comes from Colombia, with the late submission of Ciro Guerra’s “The Wind Journeys,” which bowed at Cannes and recently played at Toronto. A tale of an elderly accordion player travelling the country with the young musician he’s mentoring, it apparently combines gentle sentiment, generational themes with picturesque landscapes. Lots for the Academy to like there, perhaps.
With the unveiling of a semi-solid list of contenders, you’ll notice that Kris has committed to some predictions in the category. Meanwhile, I’ve updated mine here. A stab in the dark really, particularly without having seen the vast majority of the films, though there is a level of reasoning here and there.