Newton no longer in the Oscar race

India's official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars 2018, Newton, is now officially out of the race for the award.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced that nine feature films have been chosen to progress to the next round of voting in the Foreign Language Film category for the 90th Academy Awards.

Newton, directed by Amit V. Masurkar and starring Rajkummar Rao is set against the backdrop of elections in the world's largest democracy.

The shortlisted films have been selected from 92 titles that had originally been considered in the category.

A Fantastic Woman (Chile), In the Fade (Germany), On Body and Soul (Hungary), Foxtrot (Israel), The Insult (Lebanon), Loveless (Russia), Felicite (Senegal), The Wound (South Africa) and The Square (Sweden) have been announced as the films that have made the shortlist.

Nominations for all categories of the 90th Academy Awards will be announced on January 23, 2018.

The Oscars ceremony will be held on March 4, 2018, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.

So far, Mother India, Salaam Bombay! and Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India are the only Indian films that have made it to the top five in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Academy Awards, but none have won the honour.