Vicente Aranda's historical drama Madness Of Love (Juana La Loca) is Spain's official nomination to the foreign language category of the Oscars, while Mexico has chosen last spring's winner of five Ariel awards: Perfume De Violetas by Marisa Sistach as its foreign Oscar entry.

Madness Of Love beat out the two other contenders shortlisted for the Spanish nomination: Julio Medem's erotic epic Sex And Lucia (Lucia Y El Sexo) and Agustin Diaz-Yanes' No News From God (Sin Noticias De Dios).

No News was considered a favourite thanks to its pairing of Spanish A-list muses Penelope Cruz and Victoria Abril. However, Juana follows in the Spanish Academy's tradition of sending period films to the Oscars, including recent picks You're The One (2000), The Grandfather (El Abuelo, 1998) and Secrets Of The Heart (Secretos Del Corazon, 1997), not to mention 1993 Oscar winner, Fernando Trueba's Spanish Civil War-set Belle Epoque. Pedro Almodovar's ultra-modern All About My Mother (Todo Sobre Mi Madre), which won the Oscar in 1999, was a notable exception.