Already Famous submitted for Foreign Language Film Oscar

Los Angeles - Singaporean actress-director Michelle Chong's directorial debut Already Famous is among submissions from a record 71 countries for this season's foreign-language prize.

The MediaCorp actress wrote, directed and starred in the movie about a small-town Malaysian girl who dreams of becoming a TV star in Singapore.

First-time entries from countries such as Kenya helped push the foreign-language tally past its previous record of 67, Variety magazine reported. Singapore was among the final nations reported to enter the race, it added.

The long-list will be cut down to five when the Oscar nominations are announced on Jan 10.