In a statement released by Iran’s Farabi Cinematic Foundation, it was announced on Saturday that the movie was selected after serious discussions and extensive talks among the special committee members.

Six Iranian films had been nominated by the committee of cinema experts, and given all considerations, Muhammad, the Messenger of God, was selected to represent the country in the Academy Awards.

The film, which is the first part of Iran’s big-budget trilogy on the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), premiered in cinemas across Iran on August 26, and attracted a large number of audiences.

A number of internationally-acclaimed professionals, including Academy Award winning visual effects supervisor and filmmaker Scott E. Anderson, three-time Oscar-winning Italian director of photography Vittorio Storaro and renowned Croat production designer Milijen Kreka Kljakovic collaborated in making the film.

Academy Award-winning Indian music composer Allah-Rakha Rahman has written music for the movie.

During the past 21 years of presenting films to Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Modern Iranian cinema has achieved a reliable background in the best foreign-language film section with two Oscar nominations and an once winning the award in 2012.

The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, or Oscars, handed out annually by the US-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).

It is given to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States of America with a predominantly non-English dialogue track.

The Academy Awards or The Oscars is an annual American awards ceremony honoring cinematic achievements in the film industry; Tasnim reported.