Water to be Canada's entry for Oscar glory

Deepa Mehta's film Water will be Canada's submission to the Academy Awards, for consideration in the best foreign language film category in 2006.

Telefilm Canada, which heads the selection process, says Water was the highest grossing foreign-language film in North America this past year, with a worldwide box office of $10 million.

The film, starring Seema Biswas, was also critically acclaimed for its strong performances and beautiful cinematography.

Water is set in India in the 1930s and centres on an ashram where widows are sent by their families. Widows were considered bad luck under ancient Hindu tradition and were not allowed to remarry.

Life in the ashram is disrupted by the arrival of a child widow and the political changes that began under Mahatma Ghandi.

The filmopened the Toronto International Film Festival in 2005, won three Genie awards andfirst prize at the Bangkok Film Festival.

Mehta began filming Water in India, but was forced to move the shoot to Sri Lanka after several religious and political groups smashed sets and threatened her life, saying the film insults Hindu traditions.

In the foreign film category, each country may submit one film for consideration. From those,the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences selects five to benominated for the Academy Award.

The shortlist of nominationswill be released in thespring.