Canadian director celebrates Oscar nod at Sundance

Canadian director Denis Villeneuve celebrated his Oscar nomination Tuesday for the Middle East family drama "Incendies" as he presented the film at the Sundance festival here.

"I am not even thinking about (winning) an Oscar. For me, the nomination is already a huge honor," the 43-year-old filmmaker told AFP.

"It's like recovering from a car accident. I have images, memories, but I don't have a perspective. I'm between two worlds. I can't believe it."

The French and Canadian film, an adaptation of a play by Wajdi Mouawad, follows a set of twins as they journey to their late mother's native Lebanon in search of a brother and father they never knew.

"Wajdi Mouawad has written a play that is very strong, very beautiful and superbly poetic, and which relates directly to hope and consolation. I think it affects a lot of people," Villeneuve said.

"I was fortunate to have begun with raw material that was extremely powerful."

The film will screen out of competition at the Sundance independent film festival here in the western US state of Utah.

At the Academy Awards on February 27, "Incendies" will compete with the Mexican film "Biutiful," the Greek "Dogtooth," the Danish "In a Better World" and the Algerian "Outside the Law."