The French animated feature film Persepolis was today named among the record 63 movies qualified for consideration in this year’s Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will announce the nominees on Jan. 22, and winners will be awarded during the Oscar telecast on Feb. 24.
A feather in the cap for the art of animation, Persepolis was selected above all live-action films to represent France at the 80th Annual Academy Awards. The black-and-white, 2D animated feature from Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronanud has racked up a number of festival honors around the world, including a special jury prize at Cannes and a Best Feature win at the Ottawa Int’l Animation Film Festival.
Persepolis is based on Satrapi’s acclaimed autobiographical graphic novel, which chronicles her experiences as a young girl during the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran. Opposition from the Iranian government has no doubt fueled ticket sales of the film, which has earned more than $10 million worldwide.
The pic was produced by Marc-Antoine Robert and Xavier Rigault of 2.4.7. Films, with Kathleen Kennedy exec producing. The French-language version is voiced by mother-and-daughter team Chiara Mastroianni and Catherine Deneuve. Sean Penn, Gena Rowlands and Iggy Pop will join Mastroianni and Deneuve in the English-language version, which Sony Pictures Classics will release in select theaters in the U.S. on Dec. 25. More info on the movie can be found at www.sonyclassics.com/persepolis.
