Little hope for 'Little One'

09 October 2012 - 02:13 By ANDILE NDLOVU
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Lindiwe Ndlovu in a scene from Darrell Roodt's latest film Little One, which has received the National Film and Video Foundation's backing for submission to contest Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars in February Picture: SUPPLIED
Lindiwe Ndlovu in a scene from Darrell Roodt's latest film Little One, which has received the National Film and Video Foundation's backing for submission to contest Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars in February Picture: SUPPLIED

South Africa's entry in the foreign language category at the 2013 Oscars - Darrell Roodt's Little One - has little chance of repeating Tsotsi 's win. Tsotsi won the 2005 Academy Award for best foreign language film.

The Hollywood Reporter has published awards analyst Scott Feinberg's list of the top contenders. Feinberg factored in his personal impressions of films seen at advance screenings at festivals, conversations with industry insiders, and comparisons of how similar films have resonated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science.

His five likeliest candidates for the best foreign language film award are Austria's Amour , France' s The Untouchables , Denmark's A Royal Affair , Switzerland's Sister and Israel's Fill the Void .

A list compiled by film-making daily news site IndieWire was virtually identical.

Both lists predicted that potential "spoilers" or "threats" included Romania's Beyond the Hills, Canada's War Witch and Germany's Barbara.

Many of the predictions are aided by hype from screening at festivals around the world, and from being screened in their home countries.

The National Film and Video Foundation, responsible for promoting local movies internationally, said it was satisfied that Roodt's film was eligible and met all the requirements after it had a "special screening" in Rosebank last month. To be eligible for nomination, a film must be submitted between October 1, 2011 and September 30, 2012.

The final Oscar nominations list for the February 24 ceremony will be announced on January 15.

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