‘Birdshot’ ends Oscars journey, fails to make it to foreign language shortlist

The Filipino film "Birdshot" failed to make it to the shortlist of the Best Foreign Language Film category for the 90th Academy Awards, according to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Thursday.

Mikhail Red's film starring Mary Joy Apostol and John Arcilla was among 92 films originally considered in the category.

The nine features chosen to advance to the next round of voting 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.

Birdshot, which represented the Philippines, had won Best Picture in the Asian Future category at the 2016 Tokyo International Film Festival.

The story line revolves around the consequences of a gunshot fired by Maya (Apostol), which led her to cross paths with two cops who are discouraged from investigating the disappearance of a bus in the middle of the night.

The 2018 Academy Awards ceremony is scheduled to be held on March 4, 2018 while the nominations will be announced on January 23. — MDM, GMA News