58 countries vying for Oscar

A record number of countries will contend for the five spots in the best foreign language film category in January. Costa Rica, Fiji, and Iraq are first-time submitters. I've seen only one film on the list, Singapore's Be with Me, and heard significant buzz about only one other: Palestine's Paradise Now, a tense dramatization of suicide bombers' last 48 hours. It has been getting much press since its splash in Toronto. Of note: both Be with Me and Paradise Now weld fiction and reality into a narrative, more so than your typical film.

Frequent Cannes winners the Dardenne brothers represent Belgium. Anyone recognize other names or titles?

Argentina, "El Aura," Fabian Bielinsky
Bangladesh, "Shyamol Chaya," Humayun Ahmed
Belgium, "The Child," Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
Bolivia, "Say Good Morning to Dad," Fernando Vargas
Bosnia & Herzegovina, "Totally Personal," Nedžad Begović
Brazil, "Two Sons of Francisco," Breno Silveira
Bulgaria, "Stolen Eyes," Radoslav Spassov
Canada, "C.R.A.Z.Y.," Jean-Marc Vallée
Chile, "Play," Alicia Scherson
China, "The Promise," Chen Kaige
Colombia, "La Sombra del Caminante," Ciro Guerra
Costa Rica, "Caribe," Esteban Ramírez
Croatia, "A Wonderful Night in Split," Arsen Anton Ostojić
Cuba, "Viva Cuba," Juan Carlos Cremata Malberti
Czech Republic, "Something Like Happiness," Bohdan Sláma
Denmark, "Adam's Apples," Anders Thomas Jensen
Estonia, "Shop of Dreams," Peeter Urbla
Fiji, "The Land Has Eyes," Vilsoni Hereniko
Finland, "Mother of Mine," Klaus Härö
France, "Joyeux Noel," Christian Carion
Georgia, "Tbilisi-Tbilisi," Levan Zakareishvili
Germany, "Sophie Scholl – The Final Days," Marc Rothemund
Hong Kong, "Perhaps Love," Peter Ho-Sun Chan
Hungary, "Fateless," Lajos Koltai
Iceland, "Ahead of Time," Ágúst Gudmundsson
India, "Paheli," Amol Palekar
Indonesia, "Gie," Riri Riza
Iran, "So Close, So Far," Reza Mir Karimi
Iraq, "Requiem of Snow," Jamil Rostami
Israel, "What a Wonderful Place," Eyal Halfon
Italy, "La Bestia Nel Cuore," Cristina Comencini
Japan, "Blood and Bones," Yoichi Sai
Korea, "Welcome to Dongmakgol," Kwang-hyun Park
Luxembourg, "Renart the Fox," Thierry Schiel
Mexico, "Al Otro Lado," Gustavo Loza
Mongolia, "The Cave of the Yellow Dog," Byambasuren Davaa
The Netherlands, "Bluebird," Mijke de Jong
Norway, "Kissed by Winter," Sara Johnsen
Palestine, "Paradise Now," Hany Abu-Assad
Peru, "Días de Santiago," Josué Méndez
Poland, "The Collector," Feliks Falk
Portugal, "Noite Escura," João Canijo
Puerto Rico, "Cayo," Vicente Juarbe
Romania, "The Death of Mr. Lazarescu," Cristi Puiu
Russia, "The Italian," Andrei Kravchuk
Serbia & Montenegro, "Midwinter Night's Dream," Goran Paskaljević
Singapore, "Be with Me," Eric Khoo
Slovak Republic, "The City of the Sun," Martin Šulík
Slovenia, "The Ruins," Janez Burger
South Africa, "Tsotsi," Gavin Hood
Spain, "Obaba," Montxo Armendáriz
Sweden, "Zozo," Josef Fares
Switzerland, "Tout un Hiver sans Feu," Greg Zglinski
Taiwan, "The Wayward Cloud," Tsai Ming-liang
Tajikistan, "Sex & Philosophy," Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Thailand, "The Tin Mine," Jira Maligool
Turkey, "Lovelorn," Yavuz Turgul
Vietnam, "Buffalo Boy," Nguyen Vo Nghiem Mihn