MANILA, Philippines—The road to the Oscars ends for the Philippine entry, Soxie Topacio’s “Ded na si Lolo.”

In an official press release, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Ampas), which hands out the Oscars, announced the nine entries still vying for the Best Foreign Language Film trophy.

The Philippine entry was not in the short list, which comprised of films from Argentina (“El Secreto de Sus Ojos”), Australia (“Samson & Delilah”), Bulgaria (“Salvation is Big and Salvation Lurks around the Corner”), France (“Un Prophête”), Germany (“The White Ribbon”), Israel (“Ajami”), Kazakhstan (“Kelin”), The Netherlands (“Winter in Wartime”) and Peru (“The Milk of Sorrow”).

The short list will be narrowed down further to five nominees, which is set to be announced on February 2.

Originally, Ampas chose 65 films, including the Philippine entry, as among the finalists and these movies were screened from October 2009 to January 2010.

“Ded na si Lolo,” with its international title “Grandpa is Dead,” was recently screened at the Palm Springs International Film Festival with other Oscar hopefuls.