Lee Chang-dong's third film Oasis has been picked to represent South Korea for the best foreign language Oscar.

The film joins a rapidly-growing list of national submissions, including, most recently, Bohdan Slama's Wild Bees from the Czech Republic and Fernando Lopes's O Delfim from Portugal

Oasis (pictured) an unconventional love story about a slightly retarded ex-convict and a woman with cerebral palsy, was recently awarded the Best Director, FIPRESCI, and Best Young Actor awards at the Venice Film Festival.

Suh Young-joo, managing director of the film's sales agent Cineclick Asia, says, "Korea has never had a film selected for the final nominations, but Oasis' outstanding critical reception abroad should provide for the country's best chance yet."

Wild Bees recently won a Tiger Award at 2002's International Film Festival of Rotterdam.

Fernando Lopes's O Delfim was presented in the Official Competition section of the recent Montreal World Film Festival. Based on the novel by Jose Cardoso Pires, Delfim stars Rogerio Samora, Alexandra Lencastre and Rui Morisson in a tragic love story set in tumultuous late-1960's Portugal. Paolo Branco produced through his Lisbon-based Madragoa Filmes and Paris-based Gemini Films.

Other foreign-language films already selected for submission include:

Andrei Konchalovsky's House Of Fools (Dom Durakov) from Russia
Caroline Link's Nowhere In Africa (Nirgendwo In Afrika) from Germany
Francois Ozon's 8 Women (8 Femmes) from France
Paula van der Oest's Zus & Zo from the Netherlands
Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne's The Son (Le Fils) from Belgium
Carlos Carrera's The Crime Of Father Amaro (El Crimen De Padre Amaro) from Mexico
Gyorgy Palfi 's Hukkle from Hungary