The World: A Year For Almovodar

The foreign language film Oscar nominations end more than a decade of anticipation for All About My Mother director Pedro Almodovar. He won the prize Sunday night.

The movie about a woman's painful journey into her past after the death of her son garnered the acclaimed Spanish filmmaker his first Academy Award nomination since 1988's Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.

"There is something very mysterious about the awards - a lot of times it has nothing to do with quality," said Pedro Almodovar.

That's the reason, he said, that All About My Mother was the first of his many acclaimed films to receive a nomination since Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.

"I was waiting for 11 years to win another nomination," said Almodovar, whose films are famous for outlandish characters and complex story lines.

His latest film vied for an Oscar with films from four other countries: Nepal's Caravan, France's East-West, Solomon and Gaenor, a Welsh-language film from the United Kingdom and Sweden's Under the Sun.

The nominations marked Nepal's first bid in the category.

All About My Mother weaves the stories of strong female characters - an Almodovar trademark. There's an aging lesbian star actress, a transvestite homemaker, and a nun with HIV.

The film won Almodovar the award for best director at the Cannes Film Festival, and has been well-received in Britain and the United States.