A record 63 countries have entered the race for Oscars glory in next year's Best Foreign Language Film category. Academy Awards organisers have announced the list of entries for the coveted prize roughly three months ahead of the formal announcement of nominations.
The 63 entries will eventually be whittled down to five nominees who will all jostle for the most famous statuette in show business at the 2008 Academy Awards, which take place in Hollywood on February 24.
The two debutants in the competition are entries from Azerbaijan and Ireland.
Romania's entry, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, is likely to be one of the early front-runners in the Oscar race.
Film-maker Cristian Mungiu scooped the prestigious Palme D'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival for his film, a wrenching story about a girl's back-alley abortion in communist-era Romania.
Other notable entries included Portugal's Belle Toujours, the latest offering from Manoel de Oliveira. At age 98, he is believed to be the world's oldest working director.
Poland's Andrzej Wajda has been entered for Katyn, a harrowing film about the massacre of civilians by Soviet troops in 1940. Wajda, 81, received an honorary Oscar in 2000.
Several directors who have already scored Oscar wins in the category are also amongst the contenders.
They include Italy's Giuseppe Tornatore, whose beloved Cinema Paradiso triumphed in 1990. Tornatore is entered for The Unknown.
Another former winner is Canada's Denys Arcand, whose The Barbarian Invasions won the 2004 Oscar. This time, Arcand is entered for Days of Darkness.
Australia's The Home Song Stories is also among the entries. © 2007 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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