The Quebec film that is Canada’s hope for an Oscar in the category of best foreign film has snagged U.S. distribution rights.
Benoit Pilon’s “The Necessities of Life” (“Ce qu’il faut pour vivre”) was sold to IFC Films, E1 Films International announced Sunday.
The movie follows the journey of an Inuit hunter in the early 1950s who is flown to a sanatorium to be treated for tuberculosis, but does not understand the language.
The film won the audience-choice award and the grand jury prize at last year’s Montreal World Film Festival.
The short list of five nominees vying for the Academy Award for best foreign film is set to be announced Jan. 22.
Last year, Canada’s Oscar hopeful was Denys Arcand’s “Days of Darkness.”
