In an interview at the Polish Embassy in Washington, D.C., director Agnieszka Holland said Socha's story is still relevant today.

"It had this universal dimension. It didn't only speak about that time and those people, but in some way it spoke about human nature," Holland says.

Nominee for Best foreign language film of the year, “Monsieur Lazhar” A micro_scope Production - Canada (Photo courtesy Music Box Films)

"Bachir means bearer of good news" explains "

Monsieur Lazhar

," the title character in a French-language film from Canada that tells the story of an Algerian immigrant teacher and his students.

"It is also about the dignity of immigrants," explains writer-director Philippe Falardeau speaking about the movie at the Sundance Film Festival. "We don't know what they've been through, how difficult it is for them to adapt and how difficult is for them to be 'the other.'"

Nominee for Best foreign language film of the year, “Bullhead">Bullhead”

A Savage Film Production - Belgium (Photo courtesy of Savage Films)

, from Belgium, is a dark tale of brutality and vengeance in the illegal underworld known as the "hormone mafia." Writer-director Michael Roskam says that real criminal enterprise is just the backdrop for his story.

Bullhead

"I wanted to tell the story of a tragedy of my main character, who is a beef trader, who is involved in the illegal growth hormone business," explains Roskam. " But I just wanted to have the whole reality as a background."