Algeria has submitted films for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film since 1969. 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. It was not created until the 1956 Academy Awards, in which 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.
As of 2026, Algeria has been nominated five times, winning once for Z (1969), directed by Greek dissident filmmaker Costa-Gavras.
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.
Z (1969), directed by Greek dissident filmmaker Costa-Gavras, is the only Algerian film to win the category, and was also the first African film to win it. The other two filmmakers nominated were: the Italian filmmaker Ettore Scola for Le Bal (1983); and the French filmmaker Rachid Bouchareb for Dust of Life (1995), Days of Glory (2006), and Outside the Law (2010).
A running theme in the Algerian submissions has been the relationship between Algeria and its former colonial power, France. Hi Cousin! (1996) and Inch'Allah Dimanche (2001) follow the lives of recent Algerian immigrants in France, while Cheb (1991) follows a young man who returns to his native Algeria after many years studying in France. Three others take a historical look at relations; The Last Image (1987) tells the story of a young French schoolteacher who arrives in a small town under the control of Vichy France at the start of World War II; while Days of Glory (2006) follows a cadre of Algerian soldiers who fight in the French army during the same war; Chronicle of the Years of Fire (1975) shows the beginning of Algerian War for independence from France through the eyes of a peasant.
Most of the films are primary in French or Arabic, the two official languages in Algeria, with the exception of Little Senegal (2000), which is mainly in Wolof. Below is a list of the films that have been submitted by Algeria for review by the academy for the award by year and the respective Academy Awards ceremony.
Year(Ceremony) Film title used in nomination Original title Language(s) Director(s) Result 1969(42nd) ZFrench, Russian, English 1975(48th) Chronicle of the Years of Fire وقائع سنين الجمرArabic, French 1982(55th) Sandstorm رياح رمليةFrench, Arabic 1983(56th) Le BalNo dialogue 1987(60th) The Last Image La dernière imageFrench 1991(64th) ChebFrench, Arabic 1994(67th) Autumn: October in Algiers Automne... Octobre à Alger Malik Lakhdar-Hamina 1995(68th) Dust of Life Poussières de vieFrench, Vietnamese 1996(69th) Hi Cousin! Salut cousin!French, Arabic 2000(73rd) Little SenegalWolof, English, French, Arabic 2001(74th) Inch'Allah Dimanche إن شاء الله الأحد Arabic, French 2002(75th) Rachida 2006(79th) Days of Glory بلديون 2008(81st) Masquerades مسخرة 2009(82nd) London RiverFrench, EnglishRachid Bouchareb 2010(83rd) Outside the Law خارجون عن القانونFrench, Arabic 2012(85th) Zabana! زبانة Arabic, French Said Ould Khelifa 2015(88th) Twilight of Shadows غروب الظلالArabic 2016(89th) The Well Le puitsFrench 2017(90th) Road to Istanbul La Route d'Istanbul 2018(91st) Until the End of Time إلى آخر الزمانArabic 2019(92nd) Papicha بابيشةArabic, French 2020(93rd) Héliopolis هيليوبوليس 2021(94th) 2022(95th) Our Brothers French 2024(97th) Algiers متر 196 Arabic, French Chakib Taleb-Bendiab 2026(99th) Roqia رقية Arabic Yanis Koussim
See also List of Academy Award winners and nominees for Best International Feature Film List of Academy Award-winning foreign language films
Notes
References
External links The Official Academy Awards Database The Motion Picture Credits Database IMDb Academy Awards Page