Last year's winner was Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan - whose film Once Upon a Time in Anatolia was selected as Turkey's official submission for the best foreign language film Oscar.

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Four of the eight previous foreign language Best Picture nominees were also nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, and all four of those won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

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This year Algeria and France each nominated a film about Algeria for an Oscar in the best foreign-film category.

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The word is also the title of a South African film that is among the five Oscar nominees for best foreign language film.

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And the U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is considering whether to nominate Nairobi Half Life for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film category -- the first time a Kenyan movie has been considered.

CNN: Gangster movie Kenya's first Oscar contender

There's a clear favourite to win the Academy Award for best foreign language film this time - based on its spread of nominations alone, Amour is already an Oscar hit.

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The French film about a literature teacher in inner-city Paris received glowing reviews and several other wins -- including an Independent Spirit Award for best foreign-language film -- though it came up short at the Oscars and at the Cesars (France's Oscar equivalent), taking home only a writing award at the latter.

CNN: Cannes exposure is no guarantee of success