When it comes to Countries selecting their Official Submissions to the Academy of Motion Pictures in the hope of being Nominated (an winning) a Best Foreign Picture Oscar we should never ever be surprised at what goes down.  Of the 32 entries so far (last year there was a total of 83) four of the movies submitted have gay themes, the most astonishing of these is the one submitted by Irish Film & Television Academy.  Called ‘Viva’ it’s a Spanish language movie set in Cuba and is the tale of Jesus who does the make up for a troupe of drag performers in Havana, but dreams of being a performer. When he finally gets his chance to be on stage, a stranger emerges from the crowd and punches him in the face. The stranger is his father Angel, a former boxer, who has been absent from his life for 15 years. As father and son clash over their opposing expectations of each other, Viva becomes a love story as the men struggle to understand one another and become a family again.

It qualifies for submission as both director Paddy Breathnach and screenwriter Mark O’Halloran are Irish and as IFTA CEO Aine Moriarty said when announcing the decision ‘it reflects the diverse creativity and vision of this Irish team in bringing such a tender Cuban story to the screen that is both intriguing and visually captivating.’

‘Viva’ wowed audiences when it premiered recently at the Telluride Film Festival where it was announced that Benicio Del Toro had come on board as the movie’s Executive Producer and it stands a very good chance of ending up with the Oscar next year.

So too do the other LBGT movies already submitted. 

Greece’s pick is Xenia a delightful quirky ‘road-movie’ filmmaker Panos H. Koutras which picked up nominations for The Queer Palm and Un Certain Regard where it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May.  Check out our full review from Queertiques.

Thailand’s choice is How To Win At Checkers (Every Time) a refreshing coming-of-age drama debut movie from American/Korean filmmaker Josh Kim about two orphaned brothers who have to deal with the reality of social inequality which he does without sinking into melodrama or dragging out any of the usual cliched stereotypes. The compassionate fraternal relationship is particular touching and makes this heartbreaking story such a sheer joy to watch.  Check out the full review from Queertiques.