Dolan's J'ai tué ma mère to vie for Golden Globe

Canadian filmmaker Xavier Dolan's critically acclaimed J'ai tué ma mère (I Killed My Mother ) is among the international contenders vying for Golden Globe Awards, one of Hollywood's prominent film honours.

Dolan's mother-son drama, which was hailed on the film festival circuit and opened in Quebec earlier this year, is the lone Canadian entry on the list of 69 semi-finalists released Tuesday by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which administers the influential prize.

The film faces competitors that have also won praise internationally, including Spaniard Pedro Almodovar's Broken Embraces, Japanese police tale Nobody to Watch Over Me, French prison film A Prophet, indigenous Aussie drama Samson & Delilah and German director Michael Haneke's stark, much-lauded The White Ribbon.

A full list of the 69 films that qualified — a record number for the organization — is posted on the press group's website.

The list of 69 will be whittled down to five finalists nominated for best foreign film — to be announced, along with the nominees in all other categories, on Dec. 15.

The 67th annual Golden Globes ceremony follows in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Jan. 17.

J'ai tué ma mère was also submitted as Canada's official entry for consideration for the best foreign film Oscar.

Earlier this week, it landed on the Toronto International Film Festival's list of the Top 10 Canadian films of 2009. The film is slated for theatrical release across Canada in February.