The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (formerly known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States of America with a predominantly non-English dialogue track.[1]
National origin of Academy Award winners and nominees for Best International Feature Film (as of 2019[update] Won the award
Nominated for the award
United States (ineligible for competition)
When the first Academy Awards ceremony was held on May 16, 1929, to honor films released in 1927–28, there was no separate category for foreign language films. Between 1947 and 1955 , the Academy presented Special/Honorary Awards to the best foreign language films released in the United States.[2] 1953 ), and were not competitive since there were no nominees but simply one winning film per year. For the 1956 Academy Awards , a competitive Academy Award of Merit, known as the Best Foreign Language Film Award, was created for non-English speaking films, and has been given annually since then.
Unlike other Academy Awards, the Best International Feature Film Award is not presented to a specific individual. It is accepted by the winning film's director,[1] [update] [3]
Over the years, the Best International Feature Film and its predecessors have been given almost exclusively to European films: out of the 74 awards handed out by the Academy since 1947 to foreign language films, fifty-seven have gone to European films ,[A] Asian films ,[B] films from the Americas and three to African films . The late Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini directed four winning motion pictures during his lifetime, more than any other director. If Special Awards are taken into account, then Fellini's record is tied by his countryman Vittorio De Sica . The Soviet epic War and Peace [4]
In the following table, the years are listed as per Academy convention, and generally correspond to the year of film release ; the ceremonies are always held the following year. Films in bold and dark blue background have received an Academy Award; winning films from 1947 to 1955 won a Special/Honorary Award as denoted in the key, while all other winning films won a regular Academy Award of Merit.Films that are neither highlighted nor in bold are the nominees. When sorted chronologically, the table always lists the winning film first and then the four other nominees.
The Submitting country column indicates the country that officially submitted the film to the Academy, and is not necessarily indicative of the film's main country of production. The original titles of the films are also mentioned, as well as the names of the directors and the languages used in the dialogue track, even though none of these elements is officially included in the nomination.
When several languages are used in a film, the predominant one is always listed first; the names of the other languages are written in smaller typesize and placed between brackets. When a film's original title is in a language that uses a non-Latin script , it is first transliterated into the Latin alphabet and then written in its original script .
Films from the former Yugoslavia are written in both Latin and Cyrillic due to the fact that the previously official Serbo-Croatian language used both alphabets. Chinese film titles are romanized according to the pinyin system, and are written using the characters employed in their submitting country, i.e. traditional Chinese ones for films submitted by Hong Kong and Taiwan , and simplified Chinese ones for films submitted by the People's Republic of China.
Table key ‡ Special/Honorary Award (1947–1955)
1940s 1950s 1960s Year Film Title used in nomination Original Title Director(s) Submitting Countries Language(s) 1960(33rd) The Virgin Spring Jungfrukällan Ingmar Bergman Sweden Swedish Kapo Gillo Pontecorvo Italy Italian La Vérité Henri-Georges Clouzot France French Macario Roberto Gavaldón Mexico Spanish The Ninth Circle Deveti krug / Девети круг France Štiglic Yugoslavia Serbo-Croatian 1961(34th) Through a Glass Darkly Såsom i en spegel Ingmar Bergman Sweden Swedish Harry and the Butler Harry og kammertjeneren Bent Christensen Denmark Danish Immortal Love 永遠の人 Keisuke Kinoshita Japan Japanese The Important Man Animas Trujano / El hombre importante Ismael Rodríguez Mexico Spanish Plácido Luis García Berlanga Spain 1962(35th) Sundays and Cybele Les Dimanches de Ville d'Avray Serge Bourguignon France French Electra Ηλέκτρα Michael Cacoyannis Greece Greek The Four Days of Naples Le quattro giornate di Napoli Nanni Loy Italy Italian Keeper of Promises (The Given Word) O Pagador de Promessas Anselmo Duarte Brazil Brazilian Portuguese Tlayucan Luis Alcoriza Mexico Spanish 1963(36th) 8½ Federico Fellini Italy Italian Knife in the Water Nóż w wodzie Roman Polanski Poland Polish Los Tarantos Francisco Rovira Beleta Spain Spanish The Red Lanterns Τα κόκκινα φανάρια Vasilis Georgiadis Greece Greek Twin Sisters of Kyoto 古都 Noboru Nakamura Japan Japanese 1964(37th) Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Ieri, oggi, domani Vittorio De Sica Italy Italian Raven's End Kvarteret Korpen Bo Widerberg Sweden Swedish Sallah Shabati סאלח שבתי Ephraim Kishon Israel Hebrew The Umbrellas of Cherbourg Les Parapluies de Cherbourg Jacques Demy France French Woman in the Dunes 砂の女 Hiroshi Teshigahara Japan Japanese 1965(38th) The Shop on Main Street Obchod na korze Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos Czechoslovakia Slovak Blood on the Land Το χώμα βάφτηκε κόκκινο Vasilis Georgiadis Greece Greek Dear John Käre John Lars-Magnus Lindgren Sweden Swedish Kwaidan 怪談 Masaki Kobayashi Japan Japanese Marriage Italian Style Matrimonio all'italiana Vittorio De Sica Italy Italian 1966(39th) A Man and a Woman Un homme et une femme Claude Lelouch France French The Battle of Algiers La battaglia di Algeri Gillo Pontecorvo Italy Arabic , FrenchLoves of a Blonde Lásky jedné plavovlásky Miloš Forman Czechoslovakia Czech Pharaoh Faraon Jerzy Kawalerowicz Poland Polish Three Tri / Три Aleksandar Petrović Yugoslavia Serbo-Croatian 1967(40th) Closely Watched Trains Ostře sledované vlaky Jiří Menzel Czechoslovakia Czech, German Bewitched Love El amor brujo Francisco Rovira Beleta Spain Spanish I Even Met Happy Gypsies Skupljači perja / Скупљачи перја Aleksandar Petrović Yugoslavia Serbo-Croatian Live for Life Vivre pour vivre Claude Lelouch France French Portrait of Chieko 智恵子抄 Noboru Nakamura Japan Japanese 1968 (41st) War and Peace Война и мир Sergei Bondarchuk Soviet Union Russian , French, GermanThe Boys of Paul Street A Pál-utcai fiúk Zoltán Fábri Hungary Hungarian The Firemen's Ball Hoří, má panenko Miloš Forman Czechoslovakia Czech The Girl with the Pistol La ragazza con la pistola Mario Monicelli Italy Italian Stolen Kisses Baisers volés François Truffaut France French 1969 (42nd) Z Costa-Gavras Algeria French, Russian, English Ådalen 31 Bo Widerberg Sweden Swedish Battle of Neretva Bitka na Neretvi / Битка на Неретви Veljko Bulajić Yugoslavia Serbo-Croatian The Brothers Karamazov Братья Карамазовы Kirill Lavrov , Ivan Pyryev , Mikhail Ulyanov Soviet Union Russian My Night with Maud [L] Ma nuit chez Maud Éric Rohmer France French
1970s 1980s 1990s Year Film Title used in nomination Original Title Director(s) Submitting Countries Language(s) 1990(63rd) Journey of Hope Reise der Hoffnung Xavier Koller Switzerland German, Turkish Cyrano de Bergerac Jean-Paul Rappeneau France French Ju Dou 菊豆 Zhang Yimou , Yang Fengliang China Mandarin The Nasty Girl Das schreckliche Mädchen Michael Verhoeven West Germany German Open Doors Porte aperte Gianni Amelio Italy Italian 1991(64th) Mediterraneo Gabriele Salvatores Italy Italian Children of Nature Börn náttúrunnar Friðrik Þór Friðriksson Iceland Icelandic , EnglishThe Elementary School Obecná škola Jan Svěrák Czechoslovakia Czech The Ox Oxen Sven Nykvist Sweden Swedish Raise the Red Lantern 大紅燈籠高高掛 Zhang Yimou Hong Kong Mandarin 1992(65th) Indochine Régis Wargnier France French, Vietnamese Close to Eden Урга Nikita Mikhalkov Russia Russian Daens Stijn Coninx Belgium Dutch, French, Latin A Place in the World Un lugar en el mundo Adolfo Aristarain Uruguay [O] Spanish Schtonk! Helmut Dietl Germany German 1993(66th) Belle Époque Fernando Trueba Spain Spanish Farewell My Concubine 霸王別姬 Chen Kaige Hong Kong Mandarin Hedd Wyn Paul Turner United Kingdom Welsh The Scent of Green Papaya Mùi đu đủ xanh Trần Anh Hùng Vietnam Vietnamese The Wedding Banquet 囍宴 Ang Lee Taiwan Mandarin, English 1994(67th) Burnt by the Sun Утомлённые солнцем Nikita Mikhalkov Russia Russian Before the Rain Пред дождот Milcho Manchevski Macedonia Macedonian , English, Albanian Eat Drink Man Woman 飲食男女 Ang Lee Taiwan Mandarin Farinelli: Il Castrato Farinelli Gérard Corbiau Belgium Italian, French Strawberry and Chocolate Fresa y chocolate Tomás Gutiérrez Alea , Juan Carlos Tabío Cuba Spanish 1995(68th) Antonia's Line Antonia Marleen Gorris Netherlands Dutch All Things Fair Lust och fägring stor Bo Widerberg Sweden Swedish Dust of Life Poussières de vie Rachid Bouchareb Algeria French O Quatrilho Fábio Barreto Brazil Brazilian Portuguese, Italian The Star Maker L'uomo delle stelle Giuseppe Tornatore Italy Italian 1996(69th) Kolya Kolja Jan Svěrák Czech Republic Czech A Chef in Love შეყვარებული კულინარის 1001 რეცეპტი Nana Jorjadze Georgia French, Georgian The Other Side of Sunday Søndagsengler Berit Nesheim Norway Norwegian Prisoner of the Mountains Кавказский пленник Sergei Bodrov Russia Russian Ridicule Patrice Leconte France French 1997(70th) Character Karakter Mike van Diem Netherlands Dutch Beyond Silence Jenseits der Stille Caroline Link Germany German Four Days in September O Que é Isso, Companheiro? Bruno Barreto Brazil Brazilian Portuguese Secrets of the Heart Secretos del corazón Montxo Armendáriz Spain Spanish The Thief Вор Pavel Chukhray Russia Russian 1998(71st) Life Is Beautiful La vita è bella Roberto Benigni Italy Italian, German Central Station Central do Brasil Walter Salles Brazil Brazilian Portuguese Children of Heaven بچه های آسمان Majid Majidi Iran Persian The Grandfather El abuelo José Luis Garci Spain Spanish Tango Tango, no me dejes nunca Carlos Saura Argentina 1999(72nd) All About My Mother Todo sobre mi madre Pedro Almodóvar Spain Spanish East-West Est-Ouest Régis Wargnier France French, Russian Himalaya Himalaya, l'enfance d'un chef Éric Valli Nepal Dolpo Solomon & Gaenor Solomon a Gaenor Paul Morrison United Kingdom Welsh , Yiddish Under the Sun Under solen Colin Nutley Sweden Swedish
2000s Year Film Title used in nomination Original Title Director(s) Submitting Countries Language(s) 2000(73rd) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 臥虎藏龍 Ang Lee Taiwan Mandarin Amores perros Alejandro González Iñárritu Mexico Spanish Divided We Fall Musíme si pomáhat Jan Hřebejk Czech Republic Czech Everybody's Famous! Iedereen beroemd! Dominique Deruddere Belgium Dutch The Taste of Others Le goût des autres Agnès Jaoui France French 2001(74th) No Man's Land Ničija zemlja Danis Tanović Bosnia & Herzegovina Bosnian , French, English, Serbian Amélie Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain Jean-Pierre Jeunet France French Elling Petter Næss Norway Norwegian Lagaan लगान Ashutosh Gowariker India Hindi, English Son of the Bride El hijo de la novia Juan José Campanella Argentina Spanish 2002(75th) Nowhere in Africa Nirgendwo in Afrika Caroline Link Germany German, English, Swahili The Crime of Father Amaro El crimen del padre Amaro Carlos Carrera Mexico Spanish Hero 英雄 Zhang Yimou China Mandarin The Man Without a Past Mies vailla menneisyyttä Aki Kaurismäki Finland Finnish Zus & Zo Paula van der Oest Netherlands Dutch 2003(76th) The Barbarian Invasions Les Invasions barbares Denys Arcand Canada French Evil Ondskan Mikael Håfström Sweden Swedish The Twilight Samurai たそがれ清兵衛 Yoji Yamada Japan Japanese Twin Sisters De tweeling Ben Sombogaart Netherlands Dutch Želary Ondřej Trojan Czech Republic Czech 2004(77th) The Sea Inside Mar adentro Alejandro Amenábar Spain Spanish As It Is in Heaven Så som i himmelen Kay Pollak Sweden Swedish The Chorus Les choristes Christophe Barratier France French Downfall Der Untergang Oliver Hirschbiegel Germany German Yesterday Darrell Roodt South Africa Zulu 2005(78th) Tsotsi Gavin Hood South Africa Zulu, Xhosa , Afrikaans , Setswana The Beast in the Heart La bestia nel cuore Cristina Comencini Italy Italian Joyeux Noël Christian Carion France French, English, German Paradise Now الجنة الآن Hany Abu-Assad Palestine [P] Arabic Sophie Scholl – The Final Days Sophie Scholl – Die letzten Tage Marc Rothemund Germany German 2006(79th) The Lives of Others Das Leben der Anderen Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck Germany German After the Wedding Efter brylluppet Susanne Bier Denmark Danish Days of Glory Indigènes Rachid Bouchareb Algeria Arabic Pan's Labyrinth El laberinto del fauno Guillermo del Toro Mexico Spanish Water वाटर Deepa Mehta Canada Hindi 2007(80th) The Counterfeiters Die Fälscher Stefan Ruzowitzky Austria German Beaufort בופור Joseph Cedar Israel Hebrew Katyń Andrzej Wajda Poland Polish Mongol Монгол Sergei Bodrov Kazakhstan Mongolian , Mandarin12 Nikita Mikhalkov Russia Russian, Chechen 2008(81st) Departures おくりびと Yōjirō Takita Japan Japanese The Baader Meinhof Complex Der Baader Meinhof Komplex Uli Edel Germany German The Class Entre les murs Laurent Cantet France French Revanche Götz Spielmann Austria German Waltz with Bashir ואלס עם באשיר Ari Folman Israel Hebrew 2009(82nd) The Secret in Their Eyes El secreto de sus ojos Juan José Campanella Argentina Spanish Ajami עג'מי عجمي Scandar Copti , Yaron ShaniIsrael Arabic, Hebrew The Milk of Sorrow La teta asustada Claudia Llosa Peru Spanish, Quechua A Prophet Un prophète Jacques Audiard France French, Arabic The White Ribbon Das weiße Band Michael Haneke Germany German
2010s Year Film Title used in nomination Original Title Director(s) Submitting Countries Language(s) 2010(83rd) In a Better World Hævnen Susanne Bier Denmark Danish Biutiful Alejandro González Iñárritu Mexico Spanish Dogtooth Κυνόδοντας Yorgos Lanthimos Greece Greek Incendies Denis Villeneuve Canada French Outside the Law Hors-la-loi Rachid Bouchareb Algeria French, Arabic 2011(84th) A Separation جدایی نادر از سیمین Asghar Farhadi Iran Persian Bullhead Rundskop Michaël R. Roskam Belgium Dutch Footnote הערת שוליים Joseph Cedar Israel Hebrew In Darkness W ciemności Agnieszka Holland Poland Polish Monsieur Lazhar Philippe Falardeau Canada French 2012(85th) Amour Michael Haneke Austria French Kon-Tiki Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg Norway Norwegian No Pablo Larraín Chile Spanish A Royal Affair En kongelig affære Nikolaj Arcel Denmark Danish War Witch Rebelle Kim Nguyen Canada French, Lingala 2013(86th) The Great Beauty La grande bellezza Paolo Sorrentino Italy Italian The Broken Circle Breakdown Felix van Groeningen Belgium Dutch The Hunt Jagten Thomas Vinterberg Denmark Danish The Missing Picture L'image manquante Rithy Panh Cambodia French Omar عمر Hany Abu-Assad Palestine Arabic 2014(87th) Ida Paweł Pawlikowski Poland Polish Leviathan Левиафан Andrey Zvyagintsev Russia Russian Tangerines Mandariinid Zaza Urushadze Estonia Estonian , RussianTimbuktu Abderrahmane Sissako Mauritania Tamasheq , Bambara , Arabic, FrenchWild Tales Relatos Salvajes Damián Szifron Argentina Spanish 2015(88th) Son of Saul Saul fia László Nemes Hungary Hungarian Embrace of the Serpent El abrazo de la serpiente Ciro Guerra Colombia Cubeo, Huitoto, Ticuna, Wanano, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Catalan, Latin, English Mustang Deniz Gamze Ergüven France Turkish Theeb ذيب Naji Abu Nowar Jordan Arabic A War Krigen Tobias Lindholm Denmark Danish 2016(89th) The Salesman فروشنده Asghar Farhadi Iran Persian Land of Mine Under sandet Martin Zandvliet Denmark German, Danish A Man Called Ove En man som heter Ove Hannes Holm Sweden Swedish Tanna Martin Butler and Bentley Dean Australia Nauvhal Toni Erdmann Maren Ade Germany German 2017(90th) A Fantastic Woman Una mujer fantástica Sebastián Lelio Chile Spanish The Insult قضية رقم ٢٣ Ziad Doueiri Lebanon Lebanese Arabic Loveless Нелюбовь Andrey Zvyagintsev Russia Russian On Body and Soul Testről és lélekről Ildikó Enyedi Hungary Hungarian The Square Ruben Östlund Sweden Swedish, Danish, English 2018(91st) Roma Alfonso Cuarón Mexico Spanish, Mixtec Capernaum کفرناحوم Nadine Labaki Lebanon Lebanese Arabic Cold War Zimna wojna Paweł Pawlikowski Poland Polish Never Look Away Werk ohne Autor Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck Germany German Shoplifters 万引き家族 Hirokazu Kore-eda Japan Japanese 2019(92nd) Parasite 기생충 Bong Joon-ho South Korea Korean Corpus Christi Boże Ciało Jan Komasa Poland Honeyland Медена земја Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov North Macedonia Macedonian , Turkish, BosnianLes Misérables Ladj Ly France French Pain and Glory Dolor y Gloria Pedro Almodóvar Spain Spanish
2020s Year Film Title used in nomination Original Title Director(s) Submitting Countries Language(s) 2020/21(93rd) [5] Another Round Druk Thomas Vinterberg Denmark Danish, Swedish Better Days 少年的你 Derek Tsang Hong Kong Mandarin, English Collective Colectiv Alexander Nanau Romania Romanian, English The Man Who Sold His Skin الرجل الذي باع ظهره Kaouther Ben Hania Tunisia Arabic, English, French, Flemish Quo Vadis, Aida? Jasmila Žbanić Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnian, English, Serbian, Dutch 2021(94th) Drive My Car ドライブ・マイ・カー Ryusuke Hamaguchi Japan Japanese, English, Korean, Korean Sign Language, Mandarin, Tagalog, German, Indonesian Flee Flugt Jonas Poher Rasmussen Denmark Danish The Hand of God È stata la mano di Dio Paolo Sorrentino Italy Italian Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom ལུང་ནག་ན Pawo Choyning Dorji Bhutan Dzongkha The Worst Person in the World Verdens verste menneske Joachim Trier Norway Norwegian 2022(95th) All Quiet on the Western Front Im Westen nichts Neues Edward Berger Germany German, French Argentina, 1985 Santiago Mitre Argentina Spanish Close Lukas Dhont Belgium French, Dutch EO IO Jerzy Skolimowski Poland Polish The Quiet Girl An Cailín Ciúin Colm Bairéad Ireland Irish 2023(96th) The Zone of Interest Jonathan Glazer United Kingdom German, Polish, Yiddish Io Capitano Matteo Garrone Italy Wolof, French Perfect Days Wim Wenders Japan Japanese Society of the Snow La sociedad de la nieve J.A. Bayona Spain Spanish The Teachers' Lounge Das Lehrerzimmer İlker Çatak Germany German, Turkish, Polish, English
