'Roma,' 'Cold War' among foreign-language Oscar nominees
By Associated Press
Jan 22, 2019 9:05 AM CST
This image released by Sony Pictures Classics shows a scene from "Never Look Away." On Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019, the film was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign language film. The 91st Academy Awards will be held on Feb. 24. (Sony Pictures Classics via AP)   (Associated Press)

LONDON (AP) — Movies from around the world that place compelling personal stories amid historical tumult are competing in the Academy Awards race for best foreign-language film.

Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron's autobiographical memory masterpiece "Roma" received one of his 10 Oscar nominations Tuesday in the category. The black-and-white film, whose tally of nominations is equaled only by Yorgos Lanthimos' "The Favourite," is also up for trophies including best director and best picture.

It's joined by another black-and-white period drama: "Cold War," Polish director Pawel Pawlikowsi's tale of romance between a singer and a musician across midcentury Europe.

The film, inspired by the director's parents, was also nominated for cinematography and directing. Pawlikowski's last film, "Ida," won the foreign-language Oscar in 2015.

Also in the running are "Shoplifters," Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda's affecting tale of a family on society's margins — winner of the Cannes Film Festival's top prize — and Lebanese filmmaker Nadine Labaki's Cannes Jury Prize winner "Capernaum," a powerful neo-realist drama about a Syrian child refugee struggling to survive.

German director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, who won the foreign-language Oscar in 2007 for Cold War surveillance drama "The Lives of Others," is nominated for "Never Look Away," the story of an artist's evolution in a traumatized post-World War II Germany.

"Never Look Away" was inspired by the life of 86-year-old German artist Gerhard Richter, who has been publicly critical of the film.

The winner will be announced at the 91st Academy Awards ceremony on Feb. 24.

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