Joseph Cedar is in the Oscar running
The director, who likens filmmaking to a race, sees 'Beaufort' shortlisted in foreign language category.
A pained expression crosses director Joseph Cedar's face when he is asked about the controversy that led to his wartime drama, "Beaufort," being selected as Israel's official entry in the Academy Awards' best foreign language film category this year.
Rumors had swirled from Hollywood to the Middle East last fall that people behind "Beaufort" had contacted the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which hosts the Oscars, to complain that Israel's first choice, the bittersweet comedy "The Band's Visit," had violated Oscar rules for foreign-language films because more than half of its dialogue was in English. (That film was ultimately disqualified for consideration in the category.)
The "Beaufort" filmmakers denied the rumors, but the controversy placed Cedar, 39, in an uncomfortable position. Like any director, he wants his films to be judged for what appears on the screen, not for allegations of award season politicking.
"In order to have peace of mind, you have to believe that a film speaks for itself and that people evaluate your work for what it is," Cedar said recently as he sat down for a tofu salad lunch in the Larchmont district of Los Angeles. He compared a director's task to a 100-yard dash, in which the filmmaker goes quickly from script to mixing room, and when the movie is finished "you hope people appreciate it."
Cedar will find out next week if his film, which will open Friday in New York with a tentative March release here, makes the cut and is nominated by the academy -- it was one of the nine shortlisted titles in the category announced Tuesday. Oscar nominations are scheduled for Tuesday.
Based on the popular novel by author Ron Leshem, which was inspired by real events, "Beaufort" is a tense drama about a young Israeli commander and his troops guarding a mountaintop outpost in the waning days of Israel's 18-year occupation of Lebanon. In 1982, Israel's army invaded Lebanon, capturing the mountain and routing its Palestine Liberation Organization defenders; the mountain contains a magnificent 12th century Crusader fortress.
On May 24, 2000, Israeli troops withdrew from Lebanon, destroying their heavily fortified outpost with 6 tons of explosives, though the castle ruins were not harmed.
"The mountain was considered the most strategic spot in southern Lebanon and the first place that any military has to take over if they want to control the region," Cedar explained.
