LONDON, England (CNN) -- While the Oscars is without doubt the grandest of all the awards ceremonies, it doesn't have the world stage to itself.



"Persepolis" won the French nomination -- but failed to make the Academy's shortlist



In London, the Brits have their BAFTAs; Spain has the Goyas; and France celebrates the Cesars, where "La Vie En Rose" won six out of its "magnifique" 11 nominations. And it was this foreign fare that gave rise to the biggest controversy at Hollywood's big event.



"La Vie En Rose" amassed an impressive eleven nominations at the French Cesar Awards. Marion Cotillard's astonishing transformation into Edith Piaf won her Best Actress gongs at the Golden Globes, BAFTAs and the Academy Awards. But "La Vie En Rose" was not among the contenders for Best Foreign Film.



Another French language film, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," was on many critics' top ten lists for the films of 2007. It won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film and its American director Julian Schnabel was nominated for an Oscar. But like "La Vie En Rose," this film was not among the contenders for Best Foreign Film.



A third French film, "Persepolis" won the special jury prize at Cannes and it received an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature, but yet again, this was not a nominee for Best Foreign Film.



France suffered through an abundance of riches this year, with three potential Oscar winners. But to enter the race for Best Foreign film, France, like every other country, had to nominate just one.



So "La Vie En Rose" and "Diving Bell" were rejected by the French film authorities in favor of "Persepolis." But "Persepolis" didn't sufficiently impress the Oscar judges: so France had no films among the final five nominees.



French frustration at the Oscar process was echoed in Taiwan, which chose Ang Lee's film, "Lust Caution," as its official entry. The film won both critical acclaim and the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. But Oscar judges ruled there was too little Taiwanese involvement -- none of the lead actors are from Taiwan. The double Oscar winning director watched in disbelief as his film was banned and Taiwan was told to pick another film instead: Oscar caution triumphing over Ang Lee's lust for a third Academy Award.



And the list goes on: the Israeli film, "The Band's Visit" was excluded for having too much English -- but it's the only way the Israeli and Egyptian protagonists can communicate in the film and is a key part of the plot. But Israel submitted "Beaufort" instead -- and made the final five.



"The Kite Runner" may have proved an international success at the box office, but it didn't fly with Oscar watchdogs. Set in Afghanistan with Farsi as its main language, it fell foul of the rulebook by having too little Afghan involvement and a Swiss-American director.



But for most critics, the most inexplicable omission from the shortlist of nominees was Romania's "4 Months, 3 weeks & 2 Days," winner of the Palme D'Or in Cannes and considered by many to be a sure-fire Oscar winner. Some feel its challenging subject of a back-street abortion in communist Romania was too testing for conservative members of the Academy's Foreign Film Committee, whose volunteers tend to include many retirees -- who else has time to attend screenings of 63 foreign language films?



Even Marc Johnson, the Chairman of the Academy's Foreign Language Film Committee, acknowledged that some of the criticism levelled against the Academy this year was "justifiable".



He told CNN: "We took quite a beating, and I think quite justifiably, not for the films that we selected but for the films that we DIDN'T select.



"And I felt very passionately about it and spoke out about it more than I should have done, but there was a part of me saying "wait a minute I didn't sign on for this -- I didn't sign on to
What institution were these movies being submitted to? Who directed "Lust, Caution"? What films did France dismiss? What film did Taiwan choose? Which films failed to make the shortlist? Which film was France's choice? Which movie failed to make the Oscars shortlist?
French Cesar Awards. Ang Lee's "La Vie En Rose" "Lust Caution," "Persepolis" "Persepolis" "Persepolis"
question: What institution were these movies being submitted to?, answer: French Cesar Awards. | question: Who directed "Lust, Caution"?, answer: Ang Lee's | question: What films did France dismiss?, answer: "La Vie En Rose" | question: What film did Taiwan choose?, answer: "Lust Caution," | question: Which films failed to make the shortlist?, answer: "Persepolis" | question: Which film was France's choice?, answer: "Persepolis" | question: Which movie failed to make the Oscars shortlist?, answer: "Persepolis"