The 2011 Academy Award Nominations have finally been announced. 12 nominations for The King’s Speech make it the most recogized film, and DTFF 2010 opening night film Outside The Law is nominated as Best Foreign Language Film.

There is a big buzz around Best Actor in A Leading Role nominee Colin Firth, who was recently awarded The Golden Globe for his role in The King’s Speech. DFI spoke to Firth at the Dubai Film Festival 2010 about the difficulties of his role, and the success of the film so far.

Also from The King’s Speech, Helena Bonham Carter will join Firth at the 83rd Academy Awards, with a Best Actress In A Supporting Role nomination for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II. The unique performance of the great Geoffrey Rush as an Australian speech therapist won him a nomination for Best Actor In a supporting Role.

Another historical drama, Rachid Bouchereb’s Outside The Law received the Best Film In A Foreign Language nomination. A story of three brothers and three destinies, it is an intense drama set in World War II , during the Algerian Independent movement.

Bouchereb is no stranger to the Oscars, with two previous nominations in the same category, for Dust of Life ,in 1995 and Days of Glory in 2006. Outside The Law demonstrates, for the third time, Bouchereb putting Arab cinema on the international stage. In an interview with DFI in 2010, Bouchereb commented on the need for more film production in the Arab world. He said, “I don’t know of many movies that come out of the region, maybe four or five a year. We need more production. I know some directors from the area, and they all have difficulties finding budgets and distribution.”

For more from Bouchareb’s Masterclass in Doha, see here:

Another film selected for DTFF 2010, “Incendies” was also nominated for Best Film In A Foreign Language. Canadian director Denis Villeuneuve tells the story of Nawal and twins Jeanne and Simonm, in their attempt to carry out the final wishes of their mother by delivering letters on her behalf. The journey leads them to their native country, Lebanon.

Other front-runners for this year’s awards include True Grit with 10 nominations, and The Social Network, and Inception with 8 nominations each. Those who have seen Requiem For A Dream from director Darren Aronofsky, will rightly expect Black Swan to shake the film industry. Aronofsky received a Best Director nomination for this uniquely bizarre drama about a ballerina in Swan Lake. The film received 5 nominations in all, including Best Actress In A Leading Role for an exquisite performance by Nathalie Portman.

The Academy Awards will take place in Hollywood on February 27th. For a ful list of nominations, head to the Oscar’s website.