List of Academy Award–winning foreign-language films

The following is a list of foreign-language films that have won an Academy Award.

A theatrical poster for Japan's Gate of Hell, a recipient of the Academy Award for Best Costume Design as well as an Academy Honorary Award

Criteria

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has given Academy Awards to foreign language films since 1945. The Academy defines a foreign language film as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue. Films that meet these criteria are eligible for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. They can be nominated for awards in categories other than Best International Feature Film provided that they have been commercially released in Los Angeles County and comply with the special rules governing those categories. In addition, foreign-language films produced in the United States are not eligible for Best International Feature Film, but are eligible for awards in other categories.[1]

History

As of 2023, 27 foreign language films have won Academy Awards outside the Best International Feature Film category. The foreign language films with the most awards are Sweden's Fanny and Alexander, Taiwan's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, South Korea’s Parasite, and Germany’s All Quiet on the Western Front with four awards each, including the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.[2] Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Roma received ten Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, the highest number of nominations ever garnered for a foreign language film.[3][2][4]

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited the film industries of various countries to submit their best film for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film since 1956.[5] The Foreign Language Film Award Committee oversees the process and reviews all the submitted films. Following this, they vote via secret ballot to determine the five nominees for the award.[1] Before the competitive award was created in 1956, the Board of Governors of the Academy voted on a film every year that was considered the best foreign language film released in the United States, and there were no submissions. These films were recipients of Academy Honorary Awards.[6]

Other categories

Films that are eligible for the Best International Feature Film category are able to compete for other Academy Awards if they had been commercially released in Los Angeles County and fulfill the requirements of the categories they are participating in.[1] Among the foreign language films that have won Academy Awards outside the Best Foreign Language Film category, six have won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film while two, Shoeshine[7] and Gate of Hell have received an Academy Honorary Award.[8][9] Parasite is the only foreign film to win Best Picture so far although The Artist was the first silent film in French production to win Best Picture, but it was not submitted for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film due to it being ineligible. Roma won the award because it was a co-production of United States and Mexico.

Year
(Ceremony)
Film title used in nominationOriginal titleCategoryWinner(s)CountryLanguage(s)
1945
(18th)
Marie-LouiseWriting
(original screenplay)
Richard Schweizer SwitzerlandGerman
1954
(27th)
Gate of Hell[A]地獄門Costume Design
(color)
Sanzo Wada JapanJapanese
1956
(29th)
The Red BalloonLe ballon rougeWriting
(original screenplay)
Albert Lamorisse FranceFrench
1959
(32nd)
Serengeti Shall Not DieSerengeti darf nicht sterbenDocumentary FeatureBernhard Grzimek GermanyGerman
1960
(33rd)
Never on SundayPoté tin Kyriakí(Ποτέ την Κυριακή)Music
(original song)
Manos Hadjidakis
for "Never On Sunday"
GreeceGreece
1961
(34th)
La Dolce VitaCostume Design
(black-and-white)
Piero Gherardi ItalyItalian, English, French, German
1962
(35th)
Divorce Italian StyleDivorzio all'italianaWriting
(story and screenplay)
Ennio de Concini
Alfredo Giannetti
Pietro Germi
Italian
1963
(36th)
[B]Costume Design
(black-and-white)
Piero GherardiItalian, English, French, German
1966
(39th)
A Man and a Woman[B]Un homme et une femmeWriting
(story and screenplay)
Claude Lelouch
(story and screenplay)
Pierre Uytterhoeven
(screenplay)
FranceFrench
1969
(42nd)
Z[B]Film EditingFrançoise Bonnot AlgeriaFrench
1973
(46th)
Cries and WhispersViskningar och ropCinematographySven Nykvist SwedenSwedish
1983
(56th)
Fanny and Alexander[B]Fanny och AlexanderArt Direction
Cinematography
Costume Design
Anna Asp
(art direction)
Sven Nykvist
(cinematography)
Marik Vos
(costume design)
Swedish, German, Yiddish, English
1985
(58th)
RanCostume DesignEmi Wada JapanJapanese
1990
(63rd)
Cyrano de BergeracCostume DesignFranca Squarciapino FranceFrench
1995
(68th)
The PostmanIl postinoMusic
(original dramatic score)
Luis Enrique Bacalov ItalyItalian, Spanish
1998
(71st)
Life Is Beautiful[B]La vita è bellaActor in a Leading Role
Music
(original dramatic score)
Roberto Benigni
(best actor)
Nicola Piovani
(original dramatic score)
Italian, German, English
2000
(73rd)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon[B][E]臥虎藏龍Art Direction
Cinematography
Music
(original score)
Tim Yip
(art direction)
Peter Pau
(cinematography)
Tan Dun
(original score)
Taiwan
China
Hong Kong
United States
Mandarin
2002
(75th)
Talk to HerHable con ellaWriting
(original screenplay)
Pedro Almodóvar SpainSpanish
2004
(77th)
The Motorcycle Diaries[E]Diarios de motocicletaMusic
(original song)
Jorge Drexler
for "Al otro lado del río"
Brazil
Argentina
Chile
France
Germany
Peru
United Kingdom
United States
Quechua, Spanish
2006
(79th)
Letters from Iwo Jima[C][E]Sound EditingBub Asman
Alan Robert Murray
United StatesJapanese, English
2006
(79th)
Pan's LabyrinthEl laberinto del faunoArt Direction
Cinematography
Makeup
Eugenio Caballero
(art direction)
Pilar Revuelta
(set decoration)
Guillermo Navarro
(cinematography)
David Martí
(makeup)
Montse Ribé
(makeup)
Mexico
Spain
Spanish
2007
(80th)
La Vie en Rose[E]La MômeActress in a Leading Role
Makeup
Marion Cotillard
(actress)
Jan Archibald
(makeup)
Didier Lavergne
(makeup)
France
United Kingdom
Czech Republic
French
2011
(84th)
The Artist[D]Picture

Director

Actor in a Leading Role

Music

Costume Design

Thomas Langmann (producer)

Michel Hazanavicius (director)

Jean Dujardin (actor)

Ludovic Bource (composer)

Mark Bridges (costume design)

FranceSilent film
2018
(91st)
Roma[B][E]Director
Cinematography
Alfonso Cuarón
(director, cinematography)
MexicoSpanish
Mixtec
2019
(92nd)
Parasite[B]기생충Picture
Director
Original Screenplay
Kwak Sin-ae
(picture)
Bong Joon-ho
(picture, director, screenplay)
Han Jin-won
(screenplay)
South KoreaKorean
2022
(95th)
All Quiet on the Western Front[B]Im Westen nichts NeuesCinematography
Music
Production Design
James Friend
(cinematography)
Christian M. Goldbeck
(art direction)
Ernestine Hipper
(set decoration)
Volker Bertelmann (music)
GermanyGerman, French
2022
(95th)
RRRMusic
(original song)
M. M. Keeravani (music)
Chandrabose (lyrics)
for "Naatu Naatu"
IndiaTelugu, English
2023
(96th)
Godzilla Minus Oneゴジラ-1.0Visual Effects Takashi Yamazaki
Kiyoko Shibuya
Masaki Takahashi
Tatsuji Nojima
JapanJapanese
2023
(96th)
The Zone of Interest[B]Sound Tarn Willers
Johnnie Burn
United KingdomGerman
2023
(96th)
The Boy and the HeronKimitachi wa Dō Ikiru ka

君たちはどう生きるか

Animated FeatureHayao Miyazaki

(director)Toshio Suzuki(producer)

JapanJapanese
2023
(96th)
20 Days in Mariupol20 днів у МаріуполіDocumentary FeatureMstyslav Chernov

(director and producer)Michelle Mizner(producer)Raney Aronson-Rath(producer)

UkraineUkrainian

English Russian

2023
(96th)
Anatomy of a FallAnatomie d'une chuteOriginal ScreenplayArthur Harari

Justine Triet

FranceFrench, English, German

Notes

Academy Award-winning foreign language films using English dubbing

Year
(Ceremony)
Film title used in nominationOriginal titleCategoryWinner(s)CountryLanguage(s)
2002
(75th)
Spirited Away千と千尋の神隠しAnimated FeatureHayao Miyazaki JapanJapanese
2005
(78th)
March of the PenguinsLa Marche de l'empereurDocumentary FeatureLuc Jacquet FranceFrench

References

General
  • "Foreign Language Films Other Categories". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 2008-02-24. Archived from the original on 2011-09-26. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
Specific

External links