“Protector” chosen to compete for Best Foreign Film Oscar

The Czech Film and Television Academy (ČFTA) has nominated the film Protektor by director Marek Najbrt to compete for the Best Foreign Language Film category at next year’s American Academy Awards. According to ČFTA director Petr Vachler, Protektor - which tells the story of a Czechoslovak Radio reporter and his Jewish wife during WWII - was chosen in part because of the success enjoyed by other Czech films with similar themes in America. Czech or Czechoslovak films have been nominated for the prestigious award nine times, most recently in 2003, when Ondřej Trojan’s Želary lost to the Canadian comedy The Barbarian Invasions. The final nominees for next year’s award will be announced on February 2, 2010.