Some of the best and most-popular foreign movies of the year are ineligible for foreign-language Academy Awards this year. “The main dispute centers on an old academy directive that allows overseas countries to submit only one film a year for Oscar consideration. Critics say the rule punishes prolific filmmaking countries such as Spain, which had to choose between two very strong contenders this year. The academy guidelines also ignore the boom in international co-productions, where any number of countries may join forces to make a single movie.”