Babel, a film that tells the story of international families linked by a tragic shooting, has received seven nominations for Hollywood's Golden Globe awards. VOA's Mike O'Sullivan has details from Los Angeles.

Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt's frantic struggle to survive in Babel

Babel starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, examines a chain of events that starts with a tragic shooting in the Moroccan desert.

The film has an international cast and explores cultural gaps between people. Pitt earned an acting nomination, and Babel 'is up for the Golden Globe for best film drama.

The crime thriller The Departed earned six nominations, including one for best drama and another for director Martin Scorsese.

Other competitors in the best drama category include Bobby, which looks at events surrounding the assassination of Senator Robert Kennedy, the suburban tale Little Children, and a story about the British royal family, The Queen.

Helen Mirren was nominated for best dramatic actress for her starring role as Queen Elizabeth II. The film explores family tensions surrounding the death of Princess Diana.

Mirren also received two nominations for her television work, including one for her starring role in the historical miniseries Elizabeth I.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Hounsou run from trouble in "Blood Diamond"

Other multiple nominees include Leonardo DiCaprio, who earned acting nods for his roles in The Departed and Blood Diamond. That film concerns the diamond trade in Sierra Leone during the civil war of the 1990s. DiCaprio plays a South African mercenary opposite Jennifer Connelly.

Director Clint Eastwood was also nominated twice, for his companion World War Two films: Flags of Our Fathers, and Letters from Iwo Jima.

Nominees for best film comedy include the fashion industry satire The Devil Wears Prada  and the faux documentary Borat,  which shows British comic Sacha Baron Cohen traveling the United States pretending to be a journalist from Kazakhstan.

Golden Glove award

The Golden Globes are awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of about 90 entertainment journalists. Winners will be announced January 15.

The Golden Globes are considered a prelude to the more prestigious Oscars, which will follow in February.