‘Behind the Haystacks’ named Greek nomination for foreign language Oscar

A 2022 drama inspired by the refugee crisis will be the Greek nomination in the foreign language film category of the 2024 Oscars, the Culture Ministry has announced.

“Behind the Haystacks,” directed by newcomer Asimina Proedrou, was selected by a seven-member committee constituted exclusively for making the nomination.

The committee deemed that the film “introduces a proposal for creative rendering and artistic presentation of the causes of the moral and economic crisis facing the country with clarity, directness and sensitivity, thus contributing to the rationalization of the real and aesthetic chaos, a prerequisite for self-awareness and liberation from confusion,” the ministry said in a statement.

All entries for the Foreign Language Film Award will be viewed by am Oscars committee whose members will select by secret ballot the five official nominations.

“A tragic incident on Greece’s northern border strikes a local family of three, pushing them to face their own personal impasses, while having to deeply consider the price for their actions” is how movie database website IMDB summarizes the film’s plot.

The film stars Stathis Stamoulakatos, Eleni Ouzounidou, Evgenia Lavda, Christos Kontogeorgis, Dina Mihailidou and Paschalis Tsarouhas.