Foreign film contenders whittled down

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Nine foreign-language films are a step closer to Oscar. For the first time, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences unveiled a short list of potential nominees from 61 qualifying films in the category. The nine movies in the running: ‘‘Days of Glory’’ from Algeria, ‘‘Water’’ from Canada, ‘‘After the Wedding’’ from Denmark, ‘‘Avenue Montaigne’’ from France, ‘‘The Lives of Others’’ from Germany, ‘‘Pan’s Labyrinth’’ from Mexico, ‘‘Black Book’’ from the Netherlands, ‘‘Volver’’ from Spain and ‘‘Vitus’’ from Switzerland. From among the nine, a committee of voters in Los Angeles and New York will select the five Academy Award nominees. (One excluded director responds, plus The Envelope notes that Asian films were snubbed ... again.)