Kosovo selects its first Oscar contender

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo says it has nominated an Oscar contender for the first time since it announced independence in 2008 from Serbia.

An official in charge of nominations said "Three Windows and a Hanging" by veteran filmmaker Isa Qosja has been selected to represent the new Balkan nation for a shot at the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film.

The film examines a village forced to come to terms with the raping of its women by Serb forces during the 1998-99 Kosovo war — a sensitive issue that has largely been ignored in Kosovo's patriarchal society.

Isa Qosja, director of Three windows and a Hanging, Kosovo¿s first ever Oscar contender, gestures during an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday, Sept. 31, 2014 in Kosovo capital Pristina. The movie, a harrowing tale about a village forced to come to terms with the raping of women by Serb forces during the 1998-99 Kosovo, seeks to tackle a sensitive issue that has largely been kept out of the spotlight for over a decade, Qosja said. Kosovo declared independence in 2008 but Serbia rejects the move. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

Serbia still does not recognize Kosovo's independence.

Director Isa Qosja, right, Agron Vula and cameraman Gokhan Tiryaki take a break in a film set during the filming of the movie "Three Windows and a Hanging" near the village of Sankovc, Kosovo on Sept. 6, 2013. The movie, a harrowing tale about a village forced to come to terms with the raping of women by Serb forces during the 1998-99 Kosovo, seeks to tackle a sensitive issue that has largely been kept out of the spotlight for over a decade, Qosja said. Kosovo declared independence in 2008 but Serbia rejects the move. (AP Photo/CMB)

Basri Shala stands on a bridge on a film set during the filming of the movie "Three Windows and a Hanging" near the village of Mirena, Kosovo on Sept. 6, 2013. The movie, a harrowing tale about a village forced to come to terms with the raping of women by Serb forces during the 1998-99 Kosovo, seeks to tackle a sensitive issue that has largely been kept out of the spotlight for over a decade, Qosja said. Kosovo declared independence in 2008 but Serbia rejects the move. (AP Photo/CMB)