The Oscar nominees for Best Foreign Language film are announced by Seth MacFarlane and Emma Stone at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Beverly Hills, California on January 10, 2013. The 85th Annual Academy Awards will take place February 24. UPI/Jim Ruymen | License Photo

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Nine features will advance to the next round of voting in the Foreign Language Film category for Hollywood's 86th Academy Awards, organizers said.

Seventy-six films had originally been considered in the category.


The films, listed in alphabetical order by country, are:

Belgium, "The Broken Circle Breakdown," Felix van Groeningen, director;

Bosnia and Herzegovina, "An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker," Danis Tanovic, director;

Cambodia, "The Missing Picture," Rithy Panh, director;

Denmark, "The Hunt," Thomas Vinterberg, director;

Germany, "Two Lives," Georg Maas, director;

Hong Kong, "The Grandmaster," Wong Kar-wai, director;

Hungary, "The Notebook," Janos Szasz, director;

Italy, "The Great Beauty," Paolo Sorrentino, director;

Palestine, "Omar," Hany Abu-Assad, director.

The shortlist will be winnowed down to five nominees, which will be announced Jan. 16.

The winners in all Oscar categories are to be revealed during a March 2 ceremony at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center.