Palm Springs, CA – The 27th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF), scheduled January 1-11, 2016, announced the films selected to compete for the FIPRESCI Award in the Awards Buzz section. The Festival will screen 40 of the 80 official submissions to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Best Foreign Language Film. Additional film programs will be announced in the upcoming weeks.

The Awards Buzz section is selected by Festival programmers as the strongest entries in this year’s Academy Awards® race. A special jury of international film critics will review these films to present the FIPRESCI Award for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year, as well as Best Actor and Best Actress in this category. The following 40 films are selected to screen (in alphabetical order by country):

• Bota (Albania), Directors: Iris Elezi, Thomas Logoreci
• The Clan (Argentina), Director: Pablo Trapero
• The Brand New Testament (Belgium), Director: Jaco Van Dormael
• Our Everyday Life (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Director: Ines Tanović
• The Second Mother (Brazil), Director: Anna Muylaert
• The Judgement (Bulgaria), Director: Stephan Komandarev
• Felix and Meira (Canada), Director: Maxime Giroux
• The Club (Chile), Director: Pablo Larraín
• Embrace of the Serpent (Colombia), Director: Ciro Guerra
• The High Sun (Croatia), Director: Dalibor Matanic
• Home Care (Czech Republic), Director: Director: Slávek Horák
• A War (Denmark), Director: Tobias Lindholm
• 1944 (Estonia), Director: Elmo Nüganen
• Lamb (Ethiopia), Director: Yared Zeleke
• The Fencer (Finland), Director: Klaus Härö
• Mustang (France), Director: Deniz Gamze Erguven
• Labyrinth of Lies (Germany), Director: Giulio Ricciarelli
• Ixcanul (Guatemala), Director: Jayro Bustamante
• Son of Saul (Hungary), Director: László Nemes
• Rams (Iceland), Director: Grimur Hákonarson
• Viva (Ireland), Director: Paddy Breathnach
• Baba Joon (Israel), Director: Yuval Delshad
• 100 Yen Love (Japan), Director: Masaharu Take
• Theeb (Jordan), Director: Naji Abu Nowar
• Babai (Kosovo), Director: Visar Morina
• Heavenly Nomadic (Kyrgyzstan), Director: Mirlan Abdykalykov
• 600 Miles (Mexico), Director: Gabriel Ripstein
• The Paradise Suite (Netherlands), Director: Joost van Ginkel
• The Wave (Norway), Director: Roar Uthaug
• Moor (Pakistan), Director: Jami Mahmood
• 11 Minutes (Poland), Director: Jerzy Skolimowski
• Arabian Nights: Volume 2 - The Desolate One (Portugal), Director: Miguel Gomes
• Aferim! (Romania), Director: Radu Jude
• Enclave (Serbia), Director: Goran Radovanović
• Flowers (Spain), Directors: Jon  Garaño, Jose Mari Goenaga
• A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (Sweden), Director: Roy Andersson
• Iraqi Odyssey (Switzerland), Director: Samir
• The Assassin (Taiwan), Director: Hou Hsiao-hsien
• How to Win at Checkers (Every Time) (Thailand), Director: Josh Kim
• Sivas (Turkey), Director: Kaan Müjdeci

About The Palm Springs International Film Festival The Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) is one of the largest film festivals in North America, welcoming 135,000 attendees last year for its lineup of new and celebrated international features and documentaries. The Festival is also known for its annual Black Tie Awards Gala, honoring the best achievements of the filmic year by a celebrated list of talents who, in recent years, have included Ben Affleck, Javier Bardem, Cate Blanchett, Sandra Bullock, Bradley Cooper, George Clooney, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, Matthew McConaughey, Julianne Moore, Brad Pitt, Eddie Redmayne, Julia Roberts, David O. Russell, Meryl Streep, and Reese Witherspoon.

For more information, call 760-322-2930 or 800-898-7256 or visit http://www.psfilmfest.org.