Philippine entry "Bwakaw" enters Top 5 of AwardsCircuit.com's list of the most-likely films to get an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film category.

After making waves at the New York Film Festival and getting listed by TIME Magazine as one of the “10 Films to Watch” alongside Ang Lee‘s “Life of Pi,” Brian de Palma‘s “Passion” and Robert Zemeckis‘ “Flight,” Jun Lana‘s “Bwakaw” is now being predicted by AwardsCircuit.com to get an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.

Last month, the Philippine entry was initially listed at no. 6 among 70+ entries from around the world. This time, “Bwakaw” climbs to no. 5, switching places with Germany’s “Barbara.”

December is usually the month when films eyeing for Oscar nomination are strengthening their campaigns to get noticed by the Academy. It’s also crucial for the Philippines because this is the strongest entry we had in years and if ever it bags the nomination, it will be the first time in history of local cinema to get a nod from the world’s most prestigious award giving body for filmmaking.

“Bwakaw” chronicles the story of Rene (Eddie Garcia), a grouchy gay man trying to deal with the everyday realities of aging in a small village with his dog. In this year’s Cinemalaya Film Festival, it bagged the Audience Choice and NETPAC awards.