Morocco is the only the Arab nation nominated in the foreign language Academy Award.
The full list of the 65 nominated countries has been released with only Iran and Morocco representing the Middle East and North African (MENA) region.
The contenders are Morocco’s Casanegra by Nour-Eddine Lakhmari and Iran’s About Elly by Asghar Farhadi.
Traditionally prolific producers Egypt and Lebanon, which were both represented last year, are absent from the 2009 nominations. Lebanon’s 2008 nominee Caramel was short listed for the award, building on the success it enjoyed through out the 2008 festival circuit.
Despite a number of initiatives launching to promote Arab cinema in recent years, there is yet to be any significant visible impact on international markets.
Long term programmes including film funds, awards programmes and the development of educational initiatives have yet to bear fruit for domestic film production.
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