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Every year since the award was created in 1956, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited the film industries of various countries to submit their best film for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The award is handed out annually by the Academy to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue.

The 81st Academy Awards, have invited 96 countries to submit films for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Only one film is accepted from each country, and the deadline by which copies of all submitted films must be sent to the Academy has been set to 1 October 2008. Nominations will be announced on 22 January 2009, and the winner will be revealed during the awards ceremony that will be held on 22 February 2009.

Films submitted from Asia include:

China: Just two months after the Olympics commenced, China said it would enter Gun Yu’s Olympic documentary “Dream Weavers — Beijing 2008″ for consideration in the foreign language category of the Oscars, the first time China has put a documentary in for the category. The documentary tells the story of various Olympic hopefuls in the run-up to the Games in August.

India: Directed by Aamir Khan, India’s most talented actor, Taare Zameen Par, translated as stars on the earth, tells the story of eight year old Ishaan who suffers greatly until a teacher identifies him as dyslexic. The poetic story goes on to explore the ups and downs of being a dyslexic child in India’s evolving society. The movie has already won wide acclaim in India and has won several awards.

Philippines: Starring Filipino actress Judy Ann Santos in the title role, Ploning is the Filipino nomination to the 81st Oscar awards. The movie is based on a popular Cuyunon song of the same title about a girl’s hidden feelings in a man’s point of view. It was filmed in the small municipality of Cuyo, Palawan.

South Korea: Directed by Kim Tae-gyun, Crossing is based on a real story about the life of a North Korean defector and his family. It has been selected as South Korea’s submission to the 81st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. However, it is embroiled in controversy as it has been accused of plagiarism. The Korean Film Council will select another submission if Crossing is found guilty when the issue comes to court.

Bangladesh: Enamul Karim Nirjhar’s debut film Aha! features the story of a family living in Old Dhaka. The movie zooms in on the different issues city-dwellers face everyday, like unplanned urbanisation, generation gap and more.

Japan: The Motion Picture Producers’ Association of Japan (Eiren) has selected the Yojiro Takita drama “Okuribito” (Departures) as Japan’s contender for the foreign language Oscar’s. The movie is about an out of work cellist who moves back to his hometown to professionally wash and clothe bodies prior to the funeral.

Singapore: The island country’s submission to next years oscars is Magic. A film that portrays the relationship between an alcoholic magician and his 14 year-old son. It has mostly Tamil dialogue, with incidental Hokkien.