Spain has submitted films for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film since the conception of the award. The award is handed out annually by the United States Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue. The award was created for the 1956 Academy Awards, succeeding the non-competitive Honorary Academy Awards which were presented between 1947 and 1955 to the best foreign language films released in the United States.
As of 2026, Spain has been nominated twenty-two times, winning in four occasions, for Begin the Beguine (1982), Belle Époque (1993), All About My Mother (1999), and The Sea Inside (2004).
Submissions 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 International Feature Film since 1956. The International Feature Film 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. Before the award was created, 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.
Since the 1980s, the Spanish submission has been decided annually by the Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de España (known in English as the Spanish Academy of Arts and Cinematographic Sciences or AACCE). Beginning in 2001, the academy has announced a three-film shortlist before announcing the winning Spanish film.
Among all countries that have submitted films for the award, Spain ranks third in terms of films that have won the award, behind Italy (ten awards) and France (nine awards) and tied with Japan (four awards), and third in terms of nominees, behind France (thirty-four nominations) and Italy (twenty-seven nominations).
Pedro Almodóvar is the most submitted filmmaker, with seven films selected and one win. Although some of his acclaimed films were controversially snubbed by the Spanish selection committee, they went to win or be nominated in other categories, including: Talk to Her (2002), which won Best Original Screenplay, and Parallel Mothers (2021), which was nominated for Best Actress and Best Original Score.
The country won four times, for: Begin the Beguine (1982), Belle Époque (1993), All About My Mother (1999), and The Sea Inside (2004).
Nominated films include: La Venganza (1958), Plácido (1961), Los Tarantos (1963), Bewitched Love (1967), Tristana (1970), My Dearest Senorita (1972), That Obscure Object of Desire (1977), Mama Turns a Hundred (1979), The Nest (1980), Carmen (1983), Double Feature (1984), Course Completed (1987), Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988), Secrets of the Heart (1997), The Grandfather (1998), Pain and Glory (2019), Society of the Snow (2023), and Sirāt (2025).
Volver (2006), Even the Rain (2010), and The Good Boss (2021), advanced to the December shortlists, but were not nominated.
All submissions were primarily in Spanish, with the exception of That Obscure Object of Desire (1977), mainly in French, while Black Bread (2010), Catalan), Flowers (2014), Summer 1993 (2017), and Alcarràs (2022), were mostly in Catalan.
Below is a list of the films that have been submitted by Spain for review by the academy for the award since its first entry in 1959.
Year(Ceremony) Film title used in nomination Original title Director(s) Result 1956(29th) Afternoon of the Bulls Tarde de toros 1957(30th) High Street Calle Mayor 1958(31st) La Venganza 1960(33rd) At Five O'Clock in the Afternoon A las cinco de la tarde 1961(34th) Plácido 1962(35th) Dulcinea 1963(36th) Los Tarantos 1964(37th) The Girl in Mourning La niña de luto 1965(38th) La Tía Tula 1967(40th) El amor brujo 1968(41st) Spain Again España otra vez 1969(42nd) La Celestina 1970(43rd) Tristana 1971(44th) Marta 1972(45th) My Dearest Senorita Mi querida señorita 1973(46th) Habla, mudita 1974(47th) La prima Angélica 1975(48th) Poachers Furtivos 1976(49th) Raise Ravens Cría cuervos 1977(50th) That Obscure Object of Desire Cet obscur objet du désir / Ese oscuro objeto del deseo 1978(51st) Somnambulists Sonámbulos 1979(52nd) Mama Turns a Hundred Mamá cumple cien años 1980(53rd) The Nest El nido 1981(54th) Patrimonio nacional 1982(55th) Begin the Beguine Volver a empezar 1983(56th) Carmen 1984(57th) Double Feature Sesión continua 1985(58th) The Witching Hour La hora bruja 1986(59th) Half of Heaven La mitad del cielo 1987(60th) Course Completed Asignatura aprobada 1988(61st) Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios 1989(62nd) Love, Hate and Death Montoyas y Tarantos 1990(63rd) Ay, Carmela! ¡Ay, Carmela! 1991(64th) High Heels Tacones lejanos 1992(65th) The Fencing Master El maestro de esgrima 1993(66th) Belle Époque 1994(67th) Cradle Song Canción de cuna 1995(68th) The Flower of My Secret La flor de mi secreto 1996(69th) Bwana Bwana 1997(70th) Secrets of the Heart Secretos del corazón 1998(71st) The Grandfather El abuelo 1999(72nd) All About My Mother Todo sobre mi madre 2000(73rd) You're the One You're the One: Una historia de entonces 2001(74th) Mad Love Juana la Loca 2002(75th) Mondays in the Sun Los lunes al sol 2003(76th) Soldiers of Salamis Soldados de Salamina 2004(77th) The Sea Inside Mar adentro 2005(78th) Obaba 2006(79th) Volver 2007(80th) The Orphanage El orfanato 2008(81st) The Blind Sunflowers Los girasoles ciegos 2009(82nd) The Dancer and the Thief El baile de la Victoria 2010(83rd) Even the Rain También la lluvia 2011(84th) Black Bread Pa negre 2012(85th) Blancanieves 2013(86th) 15 Years and One Day 15 años y un día 2014(87th) Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed Vivir es fácil con los ojos cerrados 2015(88th) Flowers Loreak and Jose Mari Goenaga 2016(89th) Julieta 2017(90th) Summer 1993 Estiu 1993 2018(91st) Champions Campeones 2019(92nd) Pain and Glory Dolor y gloria 2020(93rd) The Endless Trench La trinchera infinita Jon Garaño, Aitor Arregi Galdos and Jose Mari Goenaga 2021(94th) The Good Boss El buen patrón Fernando León de Aranoa 2022(95th) Alcarràs Carla Simón 2023(96th) Society of the Snow La sociedad de la nieve 2024(97th) Saturn Return Segundo premio Isaki Lacuesta and Pol Rodríguez 2025(98th) Sirāt Oliver Laxe 2026(99th) La bola negra Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi
Shortlisted films Each year since 2001, Spain has announced a three-film shortlist (four in 2013) prior to announcing its official Oscar candidate. The following films were shortlisted by the Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de España but failed to be submitted: YearFilm2001Sex and Lucia · Sin noticias de Dios2002Story of a Kiss · Talk to Her2003Danube Hotel · South from Granada2004Bad Education · Tiovivo c. 19502005Ninette · Princesses2006Alatriste · Salvador200713 Roses · Sunday Light2008Blood in May · Seven Billiard Tables2009Fat People · Map of the Sounds of Tokyo2010Cell 211 · Lope2011The Skin I Live In · The Sleeping Voice2012The Artist and the Model · Unit 72013Cannibal · Family United · Scorpion in Love201410,000 km · El Niño2015Felices 140 · Magical Girl2016The Bride · The Olive Tree20171898, Our Last Men in the Philippines · Abracadabra2018Everybody Knows · Giant2019Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles · While at War2020Fire Will Come · The Platform2021Mediterraneo: The Law of the Sea · Parallel Mothers2022The Beasts · Lullaby202320,000 Species of Bees · Close Your Eyes2024 The Blue Star · Marco, the Invented Truth2025 Deaf · Romería2026 The Beloved · Sundays
See also List of Academy Award winners and nominees for Best International Feature Film List of Academy Award-winning foreign language films List of Spanish Academy Award winners and nominees
Notes
References
External links The Official Academy Awards Database The Motion Picture Credits Database IMDb Academy Awards Page