'Duska' named the first 2008 Foreign Language Oscar contender

Dutch tragicomedy Duska from director Jos Stelling will represent its country come Oscar time on February 24, 2008. The film will premiere at the upcoming Dutch Film Festival in Utrecht before its nationwide release on October 4 and tells the story of a middle-aged film critic (Gene Bervoets), who is secretly in love with the pretty ticket seller at the local cinema (Sylvia Hoeks). The good man's life changes radically when he is forced to admit a mysterious Russian named Duska (Sergei Makovetsky) to his own home.
Stelling is seen as one of the major living directors in the Netherlands, and Duska is his first feature film in eight years. His debut film Mariken van Nieumeghen was part of the Cannes Competition in 1974, while his film De vliegende Hollander (The Flying Dutchman) was part of the Venice Competition in 1995. He has never won an Oscar.

The Netherlands' last Oscar nomination was in 2004, for the wartime drama De Tweeling (Twin Sisters). For the 2007 Foreign Language Oscar, Zwartboek (Black Book) from Paul Verhoeven was part of the final nine shortlisted titles but did not make it to the final five nominees. Von Donnersmarck's Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others) finally won the statue. This year's nominees will be announced on January 22, 2008.

source: european-films.net,


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