The Insult became the first ever Lebanese movie to be shortlisted for the Oscars under the Foreign Language category. The Academy had to choose 9 films out of a record-breaking 92 entries this year and later on will select five films from that list which will only be revealed at the Oscars night alongside all other nominations.

The nine finalists are:

Chile, “A Fantastic Woman,” Sebastián Lelio, director
Germany, “In the Fade,” Fatih Akin, director
Hungary, “On Body and Soul,” Ildikó Enyedi, director
Israel, “Foxtrot,” Samuel Maoz, director
Lebanon, “The Insult,” Ziad Doueiri, director
Russia, “Loveless,” Andrey Zvyagintsev, director
Senegal, “Félicité,” Alain Gomis, director
South Africa, “The Wound,” John Trengove, director
Sweden, “The Square,” Ruben Östlund, director

Doueiri’s latest movie clinched its first international award as Kamel el Basha, who plays the Palestinian refugee (Yasser), won Best Actor Award – Coppa Volpi (Volpi Cup) at the Venice 2017 festival.

If you haven’t seen the Insult yet, check out my review.