Oscars 2013: Best Picture nominees

In 1979, radical Iranian students inspired by the Ayatollah Khomeini broke into the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and kidnapped 52 U.S. diplomats and staffers, beginning a hostage situation that ultimately lasted 14 months. What was not publicly known at the time was that six other Embassy staffers who fled the compound through a secret exit were holed up at the residences of Canadian diplomats, who protected them until they could be transported out of the country.

Ben Affleck directed and stars in this thriller, based on those true events, about a CIA analyst's plan to rescue the Americans by pretending they are members of a Canadian film crew preparing to shoot a science fiction movie.

The Warner Brothers release was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Credit: Warner Brothers