http://players.brightcove.net/4838167533001/BkZprOmV_default/index.html?videoId=4911123535001

Fox Searchlight made a big splash at Cannes with Paolo Sorrentino's “Youth.” On the heels of the director's Best Foreign Language Film Oscar winner “The Great Beauty,” it's a film that could be right up the Academy's alley, with performances from Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel leading the way. And now, the distributor has given it – predictably – a release date right in the thick of things.

“Youth” will hit select theaters on December 4, it was announced today. Presumably Searchlight will then platform it throughout the month and into the new year, just as awards will be flying fast and furious in the heat of the season.

Elsewhere Searchlight will also have a pair of Sundance darlings, John Crowley's “Brooklyn” and Grand Jury and Audience Award winner “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.” I caught up with the latter recently and can't say I share much of the enthusiasm that emanated from Park City, but it could certainly be a screenplay player. And it will undoubtedly be all over the Independent Spirit Awards nominations. But Crowley's drama, from a Nick Hornby script, looks like it will be a better play overall. It hits theaters November 6.

All that said – and Searchlight loves all its babies, of course – but “Youth” really does feel like the big dog in the stable for last year's Best Picture victor. We'll see if the Academy responds in due time.

Check out the HitFix review of “Youth” from Cannes here.