Oscars 2008: Best Foreign Language film nominations

By Mairi Mackay
CNN

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Each year, any country in the non-English speaking world that wants to be in with a chance of winning must choose just one film to represent the entire output of their country's filmmaking industry.

Then, over two months, a 30-strong panel whittles the entries -- there were 63 this year -- down to to a shortlist of just five. Here is a roundup of films that were in the running this year..............

Mongol

Country: Kazakhstan
Director: Sergei Bodrov
Synopsis: In twelfth-century Mongolia, nine-year-old Temudgin, is a slave. He will grow up to become the warrior known as Genghis Khan. But not before he has to flee his home shortly when his father is murdered and a rival seizes power. With the help of his blood brother, tribal prince Jamukha, the adult Temudgin battles his rivals and works to unite the region's warring clans under his authority.
Background: This was the first Academy Award nomination for Kazakhstan. Despite the Kazakh nationality, the film has a cosmopolitan cast and crew. Bodrov, the director is Russian, the star is Japanese and the film features Chinese and Mongolian supporting actors.

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Beaufort

Country: Israel
Director: Joseph Cedar
Synopsis: Set in Lebanon in 2000, in the days leading up to Israel's withdrawal, the soldiers stationed at the mountaintop outpost of Beaufort live under a barrage of constant attacks. The film tells the story of Liraz Liberti, the 22-year-old commander of Beaufort, and his troops. Frustrated by the knowledge that they are risking -- and often losing -- their lives in defense of a fortress that will soon be abandoned, the men struggle to do their duty while grieving for their dead comrades and preparing for the evacuation.
Background: Beaufort was nominated for a Golden Bear at Berlin, and won Silver Bear. This was Israel's 6th Oscar nomination, although it was the first one for 24 years. Israel has not yet won the award.

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Katyn

Country: Poland
Director: Andrzej Wajda
Synopsis: The film is an account of captured Polish officers massacred by Soviet secret police in the Katyn Forest during WWII. The story focuses on Anna, the wife of a murdered captain, who refuses to believe he is dead.
Background: Andrzej Wajda was awarded an Oscar in 2000 for "five decades of extraordinary film direction." As well as being a very personal film for Wajda who's father was killed at Katyn, the film has had huge political impact in Poland. Angela Merkel and members of the German cabinet attended the premiere of the film at this year's Berlin Film Festival. This was the eighth nomination for Poland.

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The Counterfeiters
Country: Austria
Director: Stefan Ruzowitzky
Synopsis: The story of the largest counterfeiting operation in history. The Nazis are plotting to cause the collapse of the US and British economies by flooding their markets with false bills. A group of prisoners in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp are put to work under the direction of a master counterfeiter making replicas of foreign bank notes. Some of the prisoners use delaying tactics to hinder the plan.
Background: The eventual winner of the Oscar in what was the second nomination for Austria.

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12
Country: Russia
Director: Nikita Mikhalkov
Synopsis: Twelve Russian jurors deciding the fate of a young Chechen accused of murdering his adoptive Russian father go over the details of the case in the school gymnasium that is serving as their jury room. As they argue, a young juror manages to convince them that maybe the case isn't as clear cut as it first seemed. The case itself becomes a metaphor for the problems plaguing modern Russian society.
Background: Mikhalkov stars in, directs and produces the film. This was the fifth nomination for Russia. Before 1992 the USSR received a total of nine nominations including three wins for Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears (1980), Dersu Uzala (1975), War and Peace (1968) E-mail to a friend