The BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language is a film award given annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and presented at the British Academy Film Awards. The award was first given at the 36th British Academy Film Awards, recognising the films of 1982, and until 1990 was known as the Best Foreign Language Film. Prior to this, films recorded in a language other than English were often recognised in the category BAFTA Award for Best Film, known between 1949 and 1969 as Best Film from any Source.
In the following lists, the titles and names in bold with a gold background are the winners and recipients respectively; those not in bold are the nominees. The years given are those in which the films under consideration were released, not the year of the ceremony, which always takes place the following year.
Winners and nominees
1980s Year Film Winner(s) / Nominee(s) Country Christ Stopped at Eboli Francesco Rosi Italy, France Das Boot Wolfgang Petersen West Germany Diva Jean-Jacques Beineix France Fitzcarraldo Werner Herzog West Germany, Peru Danton Andrzej Wajda, Margaret Ménégoz, Barbara Pec-Ślesicka France, Poland Confidentially Yours Armand Barbault, François Truffaut France Fanny and Alexander Ingmar Bergman, Jörn Donner Sweden La Traviata Franco Zeffirelli, Tarak Ben Ammar Italy Carmen Carlos Saura, Emiliano Piedra Spain The Return of Martin Guerre Daniel Vigne France Swann in Love Volker Schlöndorff, Margaret Ménégoz France, West Germany A Sunday in the Country Bertrand Tavernier, Alain Sarde France Colonel Redl István Szabó, Manfred Durniok West Germany, Hungary, Austria Carmen Francesco Rosi, Patrice Ledoux France, Italy Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart Tom Sternberg, Wayne Wang, Danny Yung United States Subway Luc Besson, François Ruggieri France Ran Akira Kurosawa, Serge Silberman, Masato Hara Japan Betty Blue Jean-Jacques Beineix France Ginger and Fred Federico Fellini, Alberto Grimaldi Italy, France, West Germany Otello Franco Zeffirelli, Yoram Globus, Menahem Golan Italy The Sacrifice Andrei Tarkovsky, Anna-Lena Wibom Sweden, France Jean de Florette Claude Berri France My Life as a Dog Lasse Hallström, Waldemar Bergendahl Sweden Manon des Sources Claude Berri France Babette's Feast Gabriel Axel, Just Betzer, Bo Christensen Denmark Au revoir les enfants Louis Malle France, West Germany Dark Eyes Nikita Mikhalkov, Carlo Cucchi, Silvia D'Amico Bendico Italy, Soviet Union Wings of Desire Wim Wenders, Anatole Dauman West Germany Life and Nothing But Bertrand Tavernier, René Cleitman France Pelle the Conqueror Bille August, Per Holst Denmark, Sweden Salaam Bombay! Mira Nair India Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar Spain
1990s Year Film Winner(s) / Nominee(s) Country Cinema Paradiso Giuseppe Tornatore, Franco Cristaldi Italy Jesus of Montreal Denys Arcand, Roger Frappier, Pierre Gendron Canada, France Milou in May Louis Malle France Mama, There's a Man in Your Bed Coline Serreau, Jean-Louis Piel, Philippe Carcassonne The Nasty Girl Michael Verhoeven West Germany Cyrano de Bergerac Jean-Paul Rappeneau, René Cleitman, Michel Seydoux France The Hairdresser's Husband Patrice Leconte, Thierry de Ganay Toto the Hero Jaco Van Dormael, Pierre Drouot, Dany Geys Belgium, France, Germany Raise the Red Lantern Zhang Yimou, Chiu Fu-sheng China, Hong Kong, Taiwan Les Amants du Pont-Neuf Leos Carax, Christian Fechner France Delicatessen Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro, Claudie Ossard Europa Europa Agnieszka Holland, Artur Brauner, Margaret Ménégoz Germany, France, Poland Farewell My Concubine Chen Kaige, Hsu Feng China, Hong Kong A Heart in Winter Claude Sautet, Jean-Louis Livi, Philippe Carcassonne France Like Water for Chocolate Alfonso Arau Mexico Indochine Régis Wargnier, Eric Heumann France To Live Zhang Yimou, Chiu Fu-sheng China Three Colours: Red Krzysztof Kieślowski, Martin Karmitz France, Poland Eat Drink Man Woman Ang Lee, Hsu Li-kong Taiwan, United States Belle Époque Fernando Trueba Spain Il Postino Michael Radford, Mario Cecchi Gori, Vittorio Cecchi Gori, Gaetano Daniele Italy Les Misérables Claude Lelouch France Burnt by the Sun Nikita Mikhalkov, Michel Seydoux Russia La Reine Margot Patrice Chéreau, Pierre Grunstein France, Italy, Germany Ridicule Patrice Leconte, Frédéric Brillion, Philippe Carcassonne, Gilles Legrand France Antonia's Line Marleen Gorris, Hans de Weers Netherlands Kolya Jan Svěrák, Eric Abraham Czech Republic Nelly and Mr. Arnaud Claude Sautet, Alain Sarde France The Apartment Gilles Mimouni, Georges Benayoun France Lucie Aubrac Claude Berri France Ma vie en rose Alain Berliner, Carole Scotta France, Belgium The Tango Lesson Sally Potter, Christopher Sheppard Argentina, United Kingdom, France Central Station Walter Salles, Arthur Cohn, Martine de Clermont-Tonnerre Brazil Live Flesh Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar Spain Life Is Beautiful Roberto Benigni, Elda Ferri, Gianluigi Braschi Italy On Guard Philippe de Broca, Patrick Godeau France All About My Mother Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar Spain Buena Vista Social Club Wim Wenders, Ulrich Felsberg, Deepak Nayar Germany, Cuba, United States The Celebration Thomas Vinterberg, Birgitte Hald Denmark Run Lola Run Tom Tykwer, Stefan Arndt Germany
2000s Year Film Winner(s) / Nominee(s) Country Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Hsu Li-kong, Bill Kong, Ang Lee Taiwan, China, Hong Kong Girl on the Bridge Patrice Leconte, Christian Fechner France In the Mood for Love Wong Kar-wai Hong Kong Harry, He's Here to Help Dominik Moll, Michel Saint-Jean France Malèna Giuseppe Tornatore, Harvey Weinstein, Carlo Bernasconi Italy Amores perros Alejandro González Iñárritu Mexico Amélie Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Claudie Ossard France Behind the Sun Walter Salles, Arthur Cohn Brazil Monsoon Wedding Mira Nair, Caroline Baron India The Piano Teacher Michael Haneke, Veit Heiduschka France, Austria, Germany Talk to Her Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar Spain City of God Fernando Meirelles, Andrea Barata Ribeiro, Mauricio Andrade Ramos Brazil Devdas Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Bharat Shah India The Warrior Asif Kapadia, Bertrand Faivre United Kingdom, India Y tu mamá también Alfonso Cuarón, Jorge Vergara Mexico In This World Michael Winterbottom, Andrew Eaton, Anita Overland United Kingdom The Barbarian Invasions Denys Arcand, Daniel Louis, Denise Robert Canada Good Bye, Lenin! Wolfgang Becker, Stefan Arndt Germany Spirited Away Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki Japan To Be and to Have Nicolas Philibert, Gilles Sandoz France Belleville Rendez-vous Sylvain Chomet, Didier Brunner France, Canada The Motorcycle Diaries Walter Salles, Michael Nozik, Edgard Tenenbaum, Karen Tenkhoff Argentina, Brazil Bad Education Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar Spain The Chorus Christophe Barratier, Arthur Cohn, Nicolas Mauvernay, Jacques Perrin France House of Flying Daggers Zhang Yimou, Bill Kong China, Hong Kong A Very Long Engagement Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Francis Boespflug France The Beat That My Heart Skipped Jacques Audiard, Pascal Caucheteux France Joyeux Noël Christian Carion, Christophe Rossignon France, Germany, Belgium Kung Fu Hustle Stephen Chow, Po Chu Chui, Jeff Lau Hong Kong, China Le Grand Voyage Ismaël Ferrouhki, Humbert Balsan France, Morocco Tsotsi Gavin Hood, Peter Fudakowski South Africa Pan's Labyrinth Guillermo del Toro, Alfonso Cuarón, Álvaro Augustin Spain, Mexico Apocalypto Mel Gibson, Bruce Davey United States Black Book Paul Verhoeven, San Fu Maltha, Teun Hilte, Jens Meurer Netherlands, Germany, Belgium Rang De Basanti Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Ronnie Screwvala India Volver Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar, Spain The Lives of Others Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, Quirin Berg, Max Wiedemann Germany The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Julian Schnabel, Kathleen Kennedy, Jon Kilik France The Kite Runner Marc Forster, William Horberg, Walter F. Parkes, Rebecca Yeldham United States La Vie en Rose Olivier Dahan, Alain Goldman France Lust, Caution Ang Lee, Bill Kong, James Schamus Taiwan I've Loved You So Long Philippe Claudel, Yves Marmion France The Baader Meinhof Complex Uli Edel, Bernd Eichinger Germany Gomorrah Matteo Garrone, Domenico Procacci Italy Persepolis Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud, Xavier Rigault, Marc-Antoine Robert France Waltz with Bashir Ari Folman, Serge Lalou, Gerhard Meixner, Yael Nahlieli Israel A Prophet Jacques Audiard, Pascal Caucheteux, Marco Cherqui, Alix Raynaud France Broken Embraces Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar Spain Coco Before Chanel Anne Fontaine, Caroline Benjo, Philippe Carcassonne, Carole Scotta France, Belgium Let the Right One In Tomas Alfredson, Carl Molinder, John Nordling Sweden The White Ribbon Michael Haneke, Stefan Arndt, Michael Katz, Veit Heiduschka, Margaret Ménégoz Germany, Austria
2010s Year Film Winner(s) / Nominee(s) Country The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Niels Arden Oplev, Søren Stærmose Sweden I Am Love Luca Guadagnino, Francesco Melzi d'Eril, Marco Morabito, Massimiliano Violante Italy Biutiful Alejandro González Iñárritu, Jon Kilik, Fernando Bovaira Mexico, Spain Of Gods and Men Xavier Beauvois, Pascal Caucheteux, Étienne Comar France The Secret in Their Eyes Juan José Campanella, Mariela Besuievski Argentina The Skin I Live In Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar Spain Incendies Denis Villeneuve, Luc Déry, Kim McCraw Canada Pina Wim Wenders, Gian-Piero Ringel Germany Potiche François Ozon, Eric Altmeyer, Nicolas Altmeyer France A Separation Asghar Farhadi Iran Amour Michael Haneke, Margaret Ménégoz France, Austria Headhunters Morten Tyldum, Marianne Gray, Asle Vatn Norway The Hunt Thomas Vinterberg, Morten Kaufmann, Sisse Graum Jørgensen Denmark Rust and Bone Jacques Audiard, Pascal Caucheteux France, Belgium The Intouchables Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache, Nicolas Duval Adassovsky, Yann Zenou, Laurent Zeitoun France The Great Beauty Paolo Sorrentino, Nicola Giuliano, Francesca Cima Italy The Act of Killing Joshua Oppenheimer, Signe Byrge Sørensen Denmark Blue Is the Warmest Colour Abdellatif Kechiche, Brahim Chioua, Vincent Maraval France, Belgium Metro Manila Mathilde Charpentier, Sean Ellis United Kingdom, Philippines Wadjda Haifaa Al-Mansour, Gerhard Meixner, Roman Paul Saudi Arabia Ida Pawel Pawlikowski, Eric Abraham, Piotr Dzięcioł, Ewa Puszczyńska Poland Leviathan Andrey Zvyagintsev, Alexander Rodnyansky, Sergey Melkumov Russia The Lunchbox Ritesh Batra, Anurag Kashyap, Guneet Monga, Arun Rangachari India Trash Stephen Daldry, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Kris Thykier United Kingdom, Brazil Two Days, One Night Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne, Denis Freyd Belgium, France Wild Tales Damián Szifron Argentina The Assassin Hou Hsiao-hsien Taiwan Force Majeure Ruben Östlund Sweden Theeb Naji Abu Nowar Jordan Timbuktu Abderrahmane Sissako Mauritania Son of Saul László Nemes, Gábor Sipos Hungary Dheepan Jacques Audiard, Pascal Caucheteux France Julieta Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar Spain Mustang Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Charles Gillibert Turkey, France Toni Erdmann Maren Ade, Janine Jackowski Germany, Austria The Handmaiden Park Chan-wook, Syd Lim South Korea Elle Paul Verhoeven, Saïd Ben Saïd France First They Killed My Father Angelina Jolie, Rithy Panh Cambodia, United States Loveless Andrey Zvyagintsev, Alexander Rodnyansky Russia The Salesman Alexandre Mallet-Guy, Asghar Farhadi Iran, France Roma Alfonso Cuarón, Gabriela Rodríguez Mexico Capernaum Nadine Labaki, Khaled Mouzanar Lebanon Cold War Paweł Pawlikowski, Tanya Seghatchian, Ewa Puszczyńska Poland, France Dogman Matteo Garrone Italy Shoplifters Hirokazu Kore-eda, Kaoru Matsuzaki Japan Parasite Bong Joon-ho South Korea The Farewell Lulu Wang, Daniele Melia United States For Sama Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts Syria, United Kingdom Pain and Glory Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar Spain Portrait of a Lady on Fire Céline Sciamma, Bénédicte Couvreur France
2020s