It seems that every year one of the front running contenders for the Foreign Language Oscar is left off the shortlist of nine.

This year, BPM is the one. A surprise, seeing as it has swept quite a few of the critics prizes to date.

I haven't had the chance to see any of the contenders as of yet, but the potential nominees 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 Ostlund, director

Based on reviews/word of mouth, I guess A Fantastic Woman or Foxtrot have a good chance of ultimately prevailing, but who knows what will be left off the final nominations list of five.

I am still looking forward to seeing BPM when I finally get the chance!