Movies
India’s ‘Court’ to compete with films from 80 countries at Oscars
MUMBAI: India’s official entry to the Oscars – Court – will be competing with films from 80 countries in the Foreign Language Film category for the 88th Academy Awards.
The Oscars have this year received film entries from 81 countries in this category including Paraguay, which is a first-time entrant.
The Marathi language film Court is directed by Chaitanya Tamhane. Giving Court tough competition will also be renowned director Majid Majidi’s Iranian film Muhammad: The Messenger of God, which is Iran’s official entry to the Oscars this year.
On the other hand, Paraguay’s maiden film entry for the Oscars is titled Cloudy Times, directed by Arami Ullón.
The 2015 submissions for the Foreign Language Film category are:
Afghanistan: Utopia directed by Hassan Nazer
Albania: Bota directed by Iris Elezi, Thomas Logoreci
Algeria: Twilight of Shadows directed by Mohamed Lakhdar Hamina
Argentina: The Clan directed by Pablo Trapero
Australia: Arrows of the Thunder Dragon directed by Greg Sneddon
Austria: Goodnight Mommy directed by Veronika Franz, Severin Fiala
Bangladesh: Jalal’s Story directed by Abu Shahed Emon
Belgium: The Brand New Testament directed by Jaco Van Dormael
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Our Everyday Story directed by Ines Tanovic
Brazil: The Second Mother directed by Anna Muylaert
Bulgaria: The Judgment directed by Stephan Komandarev
Cambodia: The Last Reel directed by Sotho Kulikar
Canada: Félix and Meira directed by Maxime Giroux
Chile: The Club directed by Pablo Larraín
China: Go Away Mr. Tumor directed by Han Yan
Colombia: Embrace of the Serpent directed by Ciro Guerra
Costa Rica: Imprisoned directed by Esteban Ramírez
Croatia: The High Sun directed by Dalibor Matanic
Czech Republic: Home Care directed by Slavek Horak
Denmark: A War directed by Tobias Lindholm
Dominican Republic: Sand Dollars directed by Laura Amelia Guzman, Israel Cardenas
Estonia: 1944 directed by Elmo Nüganen
Ethiopia: Lamb directed by Yared Zeleke
Finland: The Fencer directed by Klaus Haro
France: Mustang directed by Deniz Gamze Erguven
Georgia: Moira directed by Levan Tutberidze
Germany: Labyrinth of Lies directed by Giulio Ricciarelli
Greece: Xenia directed by Panos H. Koutras
Guatemala: Ixcanul directed by Jayro Bustamante
Hong Kong: To the Fore directed by Dante Lam
Hungary: Son of Saul directed by Laszlo Nemes
Iceland: Rams directed by Grímur Hákonarson
India: Court directed by Chaitanya Tamhane
Iran: Muhammad: The Messenger of God directed by Majid Majidi
Iraq: Memories on Stone directed by Shawkat Amin Korki
Ireland: Viva directed by Paddy Breathnach
Israel: Baba Joon directed by Yuval Delshad
Italy: Don’t Be Bad directed by Claudio Caligari
Ivory Coast: Run directed by Philippe Lacote
Japan: 100 Yen Love directed by Masaharu Take
Jordan: Theeb directed by Naji Abu Nowar
Kazakhstan: Stranger directed by Yermek Tursunov
Kosovo: Babai directed by Visar Morina
Kyrgyzstan: Heavenly Nomadic directed by Mirlan Abdykalykov
Latvia: Modris directed by Juris Kursietis
Lebanon: Void directed by Naji Bechara, Jad Beyrouthy, Zeina Makki, Tarek Korkomaz, Christelle
Ighniades: Maria Abdel Karim directed by Salim Haber
Lithuania: The Summer of Sangaile directed by Alante Kavaite
Luxembourg: Baby (A)lone directed by Donato Rotunno
Macedonia: Honey Night directed by Ivo Trajkov
Malaysia: Men Who Save the World directed by Liew Seng Tat
Mexico: 600 Miles directed by Gabriel Ripstein
Montenegro: You Carry Me directed by Ivona Juka
Morocco: Aida directed by Driss Mrini
Nepal: Talakjung vs Tulke directed by Basnet Nischal
Netherlands: The Paradise Suite directed by Joost van Ginkel
Norway: The Wave directed by Roar Uthaug
Pakistan: Moor directed by Jami
Palestine: The Wanted 18 directed by Amer Shomali, Paul Cowan
Paraguay: Cloudy Times directed by Arami Ullón
Peru: NN directed by Hector Galvez
Philippines: Heneral Luna directed by Jerrold Tarog
Poland: 11 Minutes directed by Jerzy Skolimowski
Portugal: Arabian Nights – Volume 2, The Desolate One directed by Miguel Gomes
Romania: Aferim! directed by Radu Jude
Russia: Sunstroke directed by Nikita Mikhalkov
Serbia: Enclave directed by Goran Radovanovic
Singapore: 7 Letters directed by Royston Tan, Kelvin Tong, Eric Khoo, Jack Neo, Tan Pin Pin, Boo Junfeng, K. Rajagopal
Slovakia: Goat directed by Ivan Ostrochovsky
Slovenia: The Tree directed by Sonja Prosenc
South Africa: The Two of Us directed by Ernest Nkosi
South Korea: The Throne directed by Lee Joon-ik
Spain: Flowers directed by Jon Garano, Jose Mari Goenaga
Sweden: A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence directed by Roy Andersson
Switzerland: Iraqi Odyssey directed by Samir
Taiwan: The Assassin directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien
Thailand: How to Win at Checkers (Every Time) directed by Josh Kim
Turkey: Sivas directed by Kaan Mujdeci
United Kingdom: Under Milk Wood directed by Kevin Allen
Uruguay: A Moonless Night directed by German Tejeira
Venezuela: Gone with the River directed by Mario Crespo
Vietnam: Jackpot directed by Dustin Nguyen
The 88th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on 14 January, 2016 at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.
The 88th Oscars will be held on 28 February, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. The Oscar presentation will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.
Hindi
Remembering Gyan Sahay, the lens behind film, television and advertising
From a puppet rabbit selling poppadums to Hindi cinema, he framed it all.
MUMBAI: There are careers, and then there are canvases. Gyan Sahay, the veteran cinematographer, director, and producer who passed away on 10 March 2026 in Mumbai, had one of the latter. Over several decades in the Indian film and television industry, he turned lenses, lights, and the occasional puppet rabbit into something approaching art.
A graduate of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune, Sahay built his reputation as a director of photography across a career that stretched from the early 1970s all the way to the digital age. He was the kind of craftsman who understood that a well-composed shot is not merely a technical achievement but a quiet act of storytelling.
For most Indians of a certain age, however, Sahay will forever be the man behind the rabbit. His direction of the iconic long-running television commercial for Lijjat Papad, featuring its now-legendary puppet bunny, gave the country one of its most cheerfully persistent advertising images. It was the sort of work that sneaks into the national subconscious and takes up permanent residence.
His big-screen credits as cinematographer include Anokhi Pehchan (1972), Pagli (1974), Pas de Deux (1981), and Hum Farishte Nahin (1988). In 1999, he stepped behind a different kind of camera altogether, making his directorial debut with Sar Ankhon Par, a drama that featured Vikas Bhalla and Shruti Ulfat, with a cameo by Shah Rukh Khan for good measure.
On television, Sahay was particularly prized for his command of multi-camera production setups, a skill that made him a go-to technician for large-scale shows and reality programmes. In an industry that has never been especially patient with complexity, he was the calm hand on the rig.
In later life, Sahay turned teacher. He participated regularly in masterclasses and Digi-Talks, often hosted by organisations such as Bharatiya Chitra Sadhna, sharing hard-won wisdom on cinematography, the comedy of timing in a shot, and the sweeping changes brought by the shift from celluloid to digital. He was also said to have been involved in a project concerning a biographical film on Infosys co-founder N.R. Narayana Murthy.
Tributes from the film industry poured in following the news of his passing, with colleagues remembering him as a senior cameraman who served as a rare bridge between two entirely different eras of Indian cinema. That is, perhaps, the finest thing one can say of any craftsman: he kept up, and he brought others along with him.
