Chile has submitted films for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film since 1990. 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 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 Foreign Language Film since 1956. The Foreign Language Film Award 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.
As of 2025, Chile has been nominated twice, winning once for A Fantastic Woman (2017).
Submissions The Chilean submission is selected annually by the Consejo del Arte y la Industria Audiovisual, which chooses a nominee for the Spanish Goya Awards at the same time. The Goya nominee is usually the same film as the Oscar nominee (1991, 1993, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009) but not always (1990, 2005, 2008, 2012).
The 2009 race was particularly controversial, when The Maid, directed by Sebastián Silva and one of the most awarded films in Chile's cinematic history, was passed over in favor of a historical drama Dawson Isla 10 by Miguel Littin. The Chilean Cultural Council released a statement in November 2009, defending the decision.
Pablo Larraín is the most selected filmmaker, with four films submitted, including one nomination for No (2012), which was also the country's first nomination in the category. Although the snub of Ema (2019) and El Conde (2023) were met with controversy. The latter was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography.
The documentary The Mole Agent (2020) directed by , advanced to the December shortlisted semifinalists, but was not nominated, although ended up being nominated for Best Documentary Feature. The film also marked the first production directed by a woman to be submitted for the category.
All the films are primary in Spanish. Below is a list of the films that have been submitted by Chile for review by the academy for the award by year and the respective Academy Awards ceremony. All films selected are primary spoken in Spanish.Source: Internet Movie Database
Year(Ceremony) Film title used in nomination Original title Language(s) Director(s) Result 1990(63rd) The Moon in the Mirror La luna en el espejoSpanish 1991(64th) The Frontier La frontera 1993(66th) Johnny 100 Pesos Gustavo Graef Marino 1994(67th) Amnesia 2000(73rd) Coronation Coronación 2001(74th) A Cab for Three Taxi para tres 2002(75th) Ogu and Mampato in Rapa Nui Ogú y Mampato en Rapa Nui Alejandro Rojas 2003(76th) Los Debutantes Andrés Waissbluth 2004(77th) Machuca 2005(78th) Play 2006(79th) In Bed En la cama 2007(80th) Padre NuestroSpanish, English Rodrigo Sepúlveda 2008(81st) Tony Manero Spanish 2009(82nd) Dawson, Island 10 Dawson, Isla 10 2010(83rd) The Life of Fish La vida de los peces 2011(84th) Violeta Went to Heaven Violeta se fue a los cielos 2012(85th) NoSpanish, English 2013(86th) GloriaSpanish 2014(87th) To Kill a Man Matar a un hombre 2015(88th) The Club El Club 2016(89th) Neruda 2017(90th) A Fantastic Woman Una mujer fantástica 2018(91st) And Suddenly the Dawn ...Y de pronto el amanecer 2019(92nd) Spider Araña Spanish, German, Haitian Creole 2020(93rd) The Mole Agent El agente topo Spanish 2021(94th) White on White Blanco en blanco Spanish, English Théo Court 2022(95th)Blanquita Spanish Fernando Guzzoni 2023(96th)The Settlers Los colonos Spanish, English Felipe Gálvez Haberle 2024(97th)In Her Place El lugar de la otra Spanish 2025(98th) The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo La misteriosa mirada del flamenco Diego Céspedes 2026(99th)The Meltdown El deshielo Manuela Martelli
Shortlisted films Since 2000, Chile has announced a list of finalists or eligible films that varied in number over the years (from 2 to 14 films) before announcing their official Oscar nominee, except in the years 2002, 2006, 2013–2015 and 2018 where an official list was not announced. The following films have been shortlisted by the Audiovisual Art and Industry Council, a collegiate committee of audiovisual specialists brought together by the CNCA between 2003 and 2019, and by the Chilean Film Academy from 2020: YearFilms2000Somewhere in the Night · Tierra del Fuego2001Loco Fever2003Cesante · Eternal Blood · Sex with Love2004Azul y blanco · B-Happy · Bad Blood · The Chosen One · Underground · XS: The Worst Size2005Decent People · Juego de verano · My Best Enemy · Time Off · Unfaithful Women2007Casa de remolienda · Fiestapatria · The King of San Gregorio · Scrambled Beer · Ugly Me200831 minutos, la película · 199 Tips to Be Happy · The Good Life · Life Kills Me · Mansacue · Microfilia · Mirageman · South Desert · The Toast2009Christmas · El regalo · The Maid · Muñeca2010Huacho · Optical Illusions · Tendida mirando las estrellas · Tourists2011Post mortem · Ulysses2012Bonsái · Old Cats · Sal2016Chicago Boys · The Inca Prince · Inside the Mind of a Psychopath · The Pearl Button · No Filter · Sex Life of Plants · Talion2017Damn Kids2019Dry Martina · Ema · The Man of the Future · Too Late to Die Young2020Jailbreak Pact · Kill Pinochet · Lina from Lima · My Tender Matador2021Bad Neighbor · The Eternal Moment · Fever Dream · Forgotten Roads · The Journey of Monalisa · My Brothers Dream Awake · The Promise of Return · Superno · Take a Spin in the Air · Three Souls · La Verónica2022130 Children · 1976 · Burning Patience · The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future · Gaucho Americano · Immersion · (Im)Patient · Karnawal · My Imaginary Country · A Place Called Dignity · La Provisoria · The Punishment · Songs of Repression2023El Conde · The Eternal Memory · Meeting Point · El vacío2024Analogues · History and Geography · Malas costumbres · Maybe It's True What They Say About Us · Prison in the Andes2025Bitter Gold · Designation of Origin · The Hyperboreans · The Wave · A Yard of Jackals2026Beyond the Mist · The Chilean · Cuerpo Celeste · Left Unsaid · Matapanki · La Perra · The Red Hangar · Summer War · A Thousand Pieses · Unwelcomed
Statistics Number of submissionsNameFilms4Pablo LarraínTony Manero · No · The Club · Neruda3Silvio CaiozziThe Moon in the Mirror · Coronation · And Suddenly the DawnAndrés WoodMachuca · Violeta Went to Heaven · Spider2Maite AlberdiThe Mole Agent · In Her PlaceMatías BizeIn Bed · The Life of FishSebastián LelioGloria · A Fantastic Woman
See also List of Chilean Academy Award winners and nominees 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