Oliver Hirschbiegel's World War II drama The Downfall(Der Untergang) has been selected as theGerman entry to compete in the Academy Awards' Best Foreign Language Filmcategory.

The independent jury charged with selecting the film saidthat it succeeded in achieving a 'powerful and demystifying cinematicrealisation of the last days of Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich.'

The Euros 13.5m Constantin Film production had its worldpremiere at a gala screening during this year's Toronto Film Festival andposted almost 750,000 admissions in its first week of release in Germany.

The film's world sales agent EOS Distribution has alreadysold the film to 20 territories including France, Italy, Spain, Russia andJapan.