Talking Movies on BBC presents special Oscar preview

The 76th Annual Academy awards are just days away and Talking Movies, the film review and magazine show on BBC World, previews all the excitement of Hollywood's biggest night of the year. The programme can be seen on Friday at 1.00 pm and the encore at 7.00 pm.

Presenter Tom Brook reviews the nominees and finds out how Shohreh Aghdashloo, who plays Mrs Behrani in House Of Sand & Fog, has been preparing for the big night. Co-presenter Laura Metzger reviews some classic Oscar moments, such as the kiss between Adrien Brody and Halle Berry last year.

Best Actor and Best Actress are two of the most coveted prizes. Laura Metzger checks out the details of the nominees from both categories and has a closer assessment of Charlize Theron and Sean Penn's route to the ceremony, while Tom Brook tells us about the Best Documentary category packed with five very strong films - Balseros, Capturing The Friedmans, The Fog Of War, My Architect and The Weather Underground.

With all the hype around the Hollywood films nominated for Best Picture, it's perhaps easy to overlook the fact that the Academy also honours international cinema. This year's shortlist includes movies from Canada, Sweden, Japan, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. Manoush Zomorodi reports on the Best Foreign Language contenders.

The Best Director category made history this year when it included for the first time ever an American-born woman, Sofia Coppola (Lost In Translation). However, as predicted by Tom Brook, it looks like the Best Director award is going home with Peter Jackson for The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King.

Finally, Talking Movies reviews the five films up for the top trophy - that is the Best Picture category - and predicts the winner.