Directing
Directors of Nominated Foreign Films to Talk at Academy Symposium
By Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Feb 13, 2004, 16:31

Beverly Hills, CA - The directors of "The Barbarian Invasions," "Evil," "The Twilight Samurai," "Twin Sisters" and "Zelary" - the five films nominated for Best Foreign Language Film for the 76th Annual Academy Awards(R) - are expected to participate in a symposium on Saturday, February 28, at 10 a.m. in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Samuel Goldwyn Theater. The event is free and open to the public.

Mark Johnson, Academy Award-winning producer, chair of the Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee and member of the Academy Board of Governors, will moderate the symposium.

The popular annual event will bring together Canada's Denys Arcand, director of "The Barbarian Invasions;" Sweden's Mikael Hafstrom, director of "Evil;" Japan's Yoji Yamada, director of "The Twilight Samurai;" The Netherlands' Ben Sombogaart, director of "Twin Sisters;" and the Czech Republic's Ondrej Trojan, director of "Zelary."

The two-hour session will include film clips from each of the nominated pictures and a question-and-answer session with the audience.

This event is sold out. Those waiting in a standby line will be admitted beginning ten minutes before the event until the theater is filled. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. Parking is available at 8920 Wilshire Boulevard (enter from Lapeer Drive), 9025 Wilshire Boulevard (enter from Wetherly Drive) and 9100 Wilshire Boulevard (enter from Doheny Drive). For more information, call (310) 247-3000, ext. 190.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2003 will be presented on February 29, 2004, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland(R) and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m. (PST) with a half-hour arrivals segment. Information about the 76th Annual Academy Awards can be accessed on line at .


ŽELARY
Czech Republic
Directed by Ondrej Trojan

Synopsis: During the Second World War, a medical student involved in the Resistance is forced to go into hiding in an isolated mountain village under the protection of the rugged Joza. As Eliska adjusts to her new life, she and Joza begin to form a complex bond despite their many differences.


THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS
Canada
Directed by Denys Arcand

Synopsis: When history professor Rémy Girard learns that he is dying, his ex-wife summons home their son, Sébastien, whose career as a successful stock trader has earned him his socialist father's disdain. In an effort to ease Rémy's last days, Sébastien gathers together a group of his father's oldest friends.


EVIL
Sweden
Directed by Mikael Håfström

Synopsis: Erik, an abused teenager who has been expelled from his school for violent behavior, is given a final chance at an education when his mother sends him to an exclusive private academy. He soon discovers, however, that the school's privileged upperclassmen are permitted to engage in a cruel reign of terror over the younger students.


THE TWILIGHT SAMURAI
Japan
Directed by Yoji Yamada

Synopsis: In nineteenth-century Japan, a widowed samurai caring for his mother and two young daughters has little time or inclination to pursue his profession's traditional warrior life. That changes, however, when he steps forward to defend a young woman from an attack by her drunken ex-husband.


TWIN SISTERS
The Netherlands
Directed by Ben Sombogaart

Synopsis: In Germany during the 1920s, twin sisters are separated following the death of their parents. One sister is raised by a well-to-do aunt in Holland while the other grows up in difficult circumstances on a German farm owned by an uncle.


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