Albania has submitted films for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film since 1996, but only a regular basis since 2008. 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. The Albanian submission is decided by a committee appointed by the Albanian Ministry of Culture.
As of 2026, Albania has submitted nineteen films, but none of them were nominated.
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.
Albania's first three films were historical tales set against the backdrop of the Enver Hoxha dictatorship which ruled Albania for over four decades. Kolonel Bunker (1996) and Slogans (2001) take place in the late 1970s, while The Sorrow of Mrs. Schneider (2008) takes place in 1961 Czechoslovakia.
Greece, Italy, Macedonia, Kosovo, and Switzerland, have each also submitted films about Albania and the Albanian diaspora.
All the films are primary in Albanian. Below is the list of the films that have been submitted by Albania for review by the academy for the award by year and the respective Academy Awards ceremony as follows.
Year(Ceremony) Film title used in nomination Original title Language(s) Director Result 1996(69th) Kolonel BunkerAlbanian 2001(74th) Slogans Parullat 2008(81st) The Sorrow of Mrs. Schneider Trishtimi i zonjës ShnajderAlbanian, Czech Eno Milkani, Piro Milkani 2009(82nd) AliveRunners-up: A Provincial Chronicle and Lenin and Us. http://www.albaniasite.net/kultura/gjalle-ne-oscar-skishte-tjeter.html GjallëAlbanian Artan Minarolli 2010(83rd) East, West, East Lindje, Perëndim, LindjeAlbanian, Italian, Slovene, Serbian 2011(84th) Amnesty AmnistiaAlbanian Bujar Alimani 2012(85th) Pharmakon Joni Shanaj 2013(86th) AgonAlbanian, Greek 2015(88th) BotaAlbanian Iris Elezi, Thomas Logoreci 2016(89th) Chromium Krom Bujar Alimani 2017(90th) Daybreak Dita zë fill Gentian Koçi 2019(92nd) The Delegation DelegacioniAlbanian, French Bujar Alimani 2020(93rd) Open Door Derë e hapur Albanian, Italian Florenc Papas 2021(94th) Two Lions to Venice Dy Luanë drejt Venecias Jonid Jorgji 2022(95th) A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On Një Filxhan Kafe dhe Këpucë të Reja VeshurAlbanian Gentian Koçi 2023(96th) Alexander Aleksander Albanian, English Ardit Sadiku 2024(97th) Waterdrop Pikë uji Albanian, Italian Robert Budina 2025(98th) Luna Park Albanian Florenc Papas 2026(99th) A State Film Film di stato / Film i Shtetit Roland Sejko
See also List of Academy Award winners and nominees for Best International Feature Film List of Academy Award-winning foreign language films Cinema of Albania
Notes
References
External links The Official Academy Awards Database The Motion Picture Credits Database IMDb Academy Awards Page Official Site of The Sadness of Mrs. Schneider Variety review of "Alive"!