Spain's film 'The Orphanage' chosen as candidates for the best foreign film Oscar

A ghost thriller set in an old orphanage has been chosen to represent Spain among movies vying to be candidates for the best foreign film Oscar.

Photo: Spain's film 'The Orphanage' chosen as candidates for the best foreign film Oscar

"The Orphanage" by first-timer Juan Antonio Bayona beat out Emilio Martinez Lazaro's "13 Roses" and Jose Luis Garci's "Luz de Domingo." The decision was announced Thursday by the Spanish Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences.

The film tells the story of a woman who returns to her childhood home with her family to open a refuge for handicapped children. Her son makes a new invisible friend, who turns out to be the same friend that terrorized the woman when she was a child. It has been produced by Mexican filmmaker and Oscar nominee Guillermo del Toro.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will announce its five candidates for best foreign film Jan. 22. The Oscar ceremony will be held Feb. 24 at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, Calif.