This article lists all the foreign language films which have been nominated for or won Academy Awards in any category, not just the International Feature Film category (known before the 2019 awards as Best Foreign Language Film) itself. The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are among the world's oldest and most prestigious film prizes. They were first handed out on May 16, 1929 by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and have been given annually ever since. Even though a separate prize has existed for foreign language films since the 1956 Academy Awards, such films continue to be eligible for Academy Awards in other categories, including Best Picture, provided that they have been commercially released in Los Angeles County, California and that they comply with the special rules governing those categories. The French comedy À Nous la Liberté (1931) was the first foreign language film to be nominated for an Academy Award (Best Art Direction); the German-language Swiss drama Marie-Louise (1944) was the first to actually win one (Best Original Screenplay).
Although a Los Angeles theatrical release is not required for eligibility for the Best International Feature Film Award itself, it is a prerequisite for consideration for Academy Awards in other categories. In the past, this had enabled some foreign language films to receive nominations over multiple years, the most recent case being that of the Italian comedy-drama Amarcord (1973). Because such films were still unreleased in Los Angeles when they were submitted to the Academy, they could only be nominated in the Foreign Language Film category. However, upon their Los Angeles release, they became eligible for other Academy Awards, and often ended up receiving nominations in various categories one year after their initial Foreign Language Film nomination. Presently, such nominations over multiple years are no longer possible since the current rules of the Academy unambiguously state that: "Films nominated for the Best International Feature Film Award shall not be eligible for Academy Awards consideration in any category in any subsequent Awards year." This restriction, however, does not apply to submitted films that were not selected as nominees. The Brazilian film City of God (2002) was thus able to receive four Academy Award nominations for the 2003 Academy Awards, even though it had failed to garner a Foreign Language Film nomination as Brazil's official submission for the 2002 Academy Awards.
Background
Foreign films are not to be confused with foreign language films. A foreign film is a motion picture produced outside the United States, regardless of the language used in its dialogue track. A foreign language film, on the other hand, is a predominantly non-English speaking motion picture, regardless of where it was produced. Although the overwhelming majority of foreign language films are foreign, this is not always the case: in recent years, for instance, several non-English speaking American films such as The Passion of the Christ (2004), Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) or Minari (2020) have been nominated for Academy Awards (American films have never been eligible for the Best International Feature Film Award, even if none of the dialogue is in English). Such films are included in this list. On the other hand, foreign films where the majority of the dialogue is in English — such as the Indo-British co-production of Gandhi (1982) — are not taken into account. The article also includes films such as the Japanese anime Spirited Away (2001) that were initially released in their native country in a foreign language but were nominated by the Academy for the English-dubbed version under which they were shown in Los Angeles. The films are grouped by award category, and are arranged chronologically within each category. 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. The winning films are in bold and in light blue background; the presence of an Oscar statuette indicates the official recipient of the award.
Best Picture The Best Picture category has existed since the creation of the Academy Awards. Its name has changed several times over the years. When Grand Illusion (1937) was nominated, the name of the category was Outstanding Production; the Best Picture designation has been continuously used since the 1962 Academy Awards. Individual producers have been officially nominated for this award since the 1951 Academy Awards. Previously, the nominations went to the production companies instead.
Year Film title used in nomination Original title Award recipient(s) Country of production Language(s) Notes 1938(11th) Grand Illusion La Grande Illusion Réalisation d'art cinématographique(production company) France French(some parts in German, English, and Russian) 1969(42nd) Z Z France Algeria French The film won the Best International Feature Film Award the same year. 1972(45th) Utvandrarna Sweden Swedish The film was nominated for the Best International Feature Film Award the previous year, but lost to The Garden of the Finzi-Continis. 1973(46th) Cries and Whispers Viskningar och rop Sweden Swedish The film was not submitted for consideration by Sweden, possibly due to late release date. 1995(68th) Il Postino: The Postman Il postino Italy Italian(some parts in Spanish) 1998(71st) Life Is Beautiful La vita è bella Italy Italian(some parts in German and English) Roberto Benigni is one of only three performers to have directed themselves to an Acting Award (the other two being Charlie Chaplin and Laurence Olivier). 2000(73rd) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Wòhǔ Cánglóng(pinyin)臥虎藏龍(traditional Chinese)卧虎藏龙(simplified Chinese) Taiwan China Hong Kong United States Mandarin 2006(79th) Babel Babel United States Mexico France English, Arabic, Spanish, Japanese, Japanese Sign Language, Berber languagesAs an American movie, the film was ineligible for competition in the International Feature Film category. Letters from Iwo Jima Letters from Iwo Jima United States Japanese(some parts in English) 2012(85th) Amour Amour Austria France Germany French 2018(91st) Roma Roma Mexico United States Spanish, Mixtec 2019(92nd) Parasite Gisaengchung기생충 South Korea Korean 2020(93rd) Minari Minari United States Korean(some parts in English) 2021(94th) Drive My Car Doraibu mai kāドライブ・マイ・カー Japan Japanese(some parts in English, Korean Sign Language, German, Mandarin, Tagalog, Indonesian, and Korean) 2022(95th) All Quiet on the Western Front Im Westen nichts Neues Germany United States German (some parts in French) 2023(96th) Anatomy of a Fall Anatomie d'une chute France French, English(some parts in German) Past Lives Past Lives United States South Korea Korean, English United Kingdom Poland United States German(some parts in Polish and Yiddish) 2024(97th) Emilia Pérez Emilia Pérez France Mexico Belgium Spanish(some parts in English) I'm Still Here Ainda Estou Aqui Brazil Portuguese 2025(98th) The Secret Agent O Agente Secreto Brazil Portuguese Sentimental Value Affeksjonsverdi Norway France Germany Denmark Sweden United Kingdom Norwegian, English, Swedish, Danish
Acting awards
Documentary Feature The Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature category has existed since 1942.