Denis Villeneuve’s feature film Maelstrom has been selected as Canada’s official entry in the best foreign-language film category at the 2000 Academy Awards.

Villeneuve, whose first feature 32 August on Earth was chosen for the same category in 1998, beat out nine other Quebec films for this year’s prestigious honor.

Other recent accolades for Maelstrom include best Canadian film, audience choice award and best artistic contribution (cinematography) at the 2000 Montreal World Film Festival, and special mention from the best Canadian film jury at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival.

Maelstrom, written and directed by Villeneuve, and produced by Roger Frappier and Luc Vandal of Montreal’s Max Films, is a story, told by a fish, of a 25-year-old woman whose life spirals into chaos after she accidentally runs over a man and, in a panic, leaves him lying on the street.

The film is distributed in Quebec by Alliance Atlantis Vivafilm and in the rest of Canada by Odeon Films. Foreign sales are handled by Alliance Atlantis Pictures International. *