From left to right: Marc Rothemund, director of Sophie Scholl - The Final Days, Hany Abu-Assad, director of Paradise Now, Cristina Comencini, director of Don't Tell, Gavin Hood, director of Tsotsi, and Christian Caron, director of Joyeux Noel.

Moderated by Mark Johnson, Oscar-winning® producer of Rain Man, Moonlight Mile, The Notebook and The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Featuring representatives of the 2005 Best Foreign Language Film Nominees.

From what began as a small and intimate gathering of film directors representing their nominated films in the foreign language film category, this annual event has turned into an SRO happening that is as entertaining as it is informative. Each year the Academy invites the five directors to appear live on-stage accompanied by film clips from their nominated foreign language films.

This year's symposium, as in the past, took place the day before the Oscar® presentation ceremony. Moderated by producer Mark Johnson, it brought together on one stage some of the world's top filmmakers, discussing such wide-ranging topics as art, politics and moviemaking. In addition to featuring film clips, the approximately two-hour event will also provide an opportunity for questions from the audience.