RADiUS is proud to announce that its art house horror film Goodnight Mommy (read our review) has been selected as the Austrian entry for Best Foreign Language Film consideration at the 2016 Academy Awards. This coveted honor was decided by the representatives of the Association of the Film and Music Industry.

RADiUS will open the film Friday at the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Angelika Film Center in New York, as well as the Landmark Nuart Theatre in Los Angeles followed by a national release.

“With Goodnight Mommy, the filmmakers created a visually exciting and nerve-wracking film – equal parts horror and art-house. The clever and sometimes perverted bends and twists are as cleverly designed as they are elegantly staged,” said the Association of Film and Music Industry in a statement.

The debut feature film by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala celebrated its world premiere last year at the Venice Film Festival and has already won 14 awards, including the main prize at the Film Festival Ljubljana and the Great Diagonal Movie Award. The film has also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and New Directors/New Films among many other prestigious festivals. Goodnight Mommy was produced by Austrian master Ulrich Seidel.

“It is a great honor for us to be the official Austrian submission for the 88th Academy Awards. We are extremely proud and very excited. When we set out to make this film, we had no idea how big things could become. Every movie starts small: one person (ok, two in our case) has an idea, on his own, all alone. Then, begins a long journey with no one knowing where it will end. Our journey has been incredible so far and we can only hope that it ends at this year’s Oscars,” said filmmakers Franz and Fiala.

“In the heat of the summer lays a lonesome house in the countryside where nine year old twin brothers await their mother’s return. When she comes home, bandaged after cosmetic surgery, nothing is like before and the children start to doubt whether this woman is actually who she says she is. What ensues is a terrifying observational struggle with fatal consequences on par with The Shining and Dead Ringers.”

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will select the five final nominees for Best Foreign Language Film in January. The 88th Academy Awards ceremony will take place on February 28, 2016 at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.