Nine films eligible for Foreign Language Oscar nomination

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.