Sep 10, 2009–Japan has announced its film for consideration for the foreign-language film Oscar category.
Ryoichi Kimizuka's "Dare mo mamotte kurenai" (“Nobody to Watch Over Me”) was chosen by the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan. The suspense drama, about a cop assigned to protect a teenage girl, the sister of a murder suspect, was released in January by Toho. Produced by a consortium headed by the Fuji TV network, the film is represented internationally by Pony Canyon.
Japan's entry last year, Yojiro Takita's "Departures," won the Foreign-Language Oscar and earned more than $60 million at the Japanese box-office, but was not a success in the U.S.
The closing date for submissions to the foreign language category is October 1, 2008. Nominations will be announced February 2, 2009 and the Academy Awards telecast will take place on March 7, 2009.
