The People's Republic of China has submitted films for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film since 1979. 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.
China, Hong Kong and Taiwan are recognized as separate entities by AMPAS and each one routinely sends a film to the competition. Although China, Hong Kong and Taiwan used to have very separate film industries, a more Pan-Chinese film industry began to develop in the early 2000s, with filmmakers, actors and crew members routinely working on projects outside their home territory. In recent years, Hong Kong in particular has begun to submit Mandarin-language Mainland co-productions like The Banquet (2006) and Painted Skin (2008).
As of 2026, China has been nominated twice, for Ju Dou (1990) and Hero (2002).
Submissions Every year, each country is invited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to submit its 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.
With eight films submitted, Zhang Yimou is the filmmaker with most entries. He was nominated twice, for Ju Dou (1990) and Hero (2002), alongside a nomination representing Hong Kong.
Most of the films are primary in Mandarin, with the exception of The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru (2024) which was disqualified for being mostly in English. Below is a list of the films that have been submitted by the People's Republic of China for review by the academy for the award. Year(Ceremony) Film title used in nomination Original title Language(s) Director(s) Result 1979(52nd) 阿凡提Mandarin Lang Xiao 1983(56th) My Memories of Old Beijing 城南旧事 Wu Yigong 1984(57th) Life 人生 Wu Tianming 1986(59th) Dr. Sun Yat-sen 孙中山 Ding Yinnan 1987(60th) Hibiscus Town 芙蓉镇 Xie Jin 1988(61st) Red Sorghum 红高粱 Zhang Yimou 1989(62nd) The Birth of New China 开国大典 Li Qiankuan 1990(63rd) Ju Dou 菊豆 Zhang Yimou and Yang Fengliang 1991(64th) The Spring Festival 过年 Huang Jianzhong 1992(65th) The Story of Qiu Ju 秋菊打官司 Zhang Yimou 1993(66th) Country Teachers 凤凰琴 He Qun 1995(68th) Red Cherry 红樱桃Mandarin, Russian, German Ye Daying 1998(71st) Genghis Khan 一代天骄成吉思汗Mandarin, Mongolian Sai Fu & Lisi Mai 1999(72nd) Lover's Grief over the Yellow River 黄河绝恋Mandarin Feng Xiaoning 2000(73rd) Breaking the Silence 漂亮妈妈 Sun Zhou 2002(75th) Hero 英雄 Zhang Yimou 2003(76th) Warriors of Heaven and Earth 天地英雄 He Ping 2004(77th) House of Flying Daggers 十面埋伏 Zhang Yimou 2005(78th) The Promise 无极 Chen Kaige 2006(79th) Curse of the Golden Flower 满城尽带黄金甲 Zhang Yimou 2007(80th) The Knot 云水谣 Yin Li 2008(81st) Dream Weavers: Beijing 2008 筑梦 Yu Gun 2009(82nd) Forever Enthralled 梅兰芳 Chen Kaige 2010(83rd) Aftershock 唐山大地震 Feng Xiaogang 2011(84th) The Flowers of WarThe Hollywood Reporter Academy Releases Foreign-Language Oscar List 13 October 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-14 金陵十三釵Mandarin, English Zhang Yimou 2012(85th) Caught in the Web 搜索Mandarin Chen Kaige 2013(86th) Back to 1942 一九四二Mandarin, English, Japanese Feng Xiaogang 2014(87th) The Nightingale 夜莺Mandarin Philippie Muyl 2015(88th) Go Away Mr. Tumor 滚蛋吧！肿瘤君 Han Yan 2016(89th) Xuanzang 大唐玄奘 Huo Jianqi 2017(90th) Wolf Warrior 2 战狼2Mandarin, English Wu Jing 2018(91st) Hidden Man 邪不压正Mandarin Jiang Wen 2019(92nd) Ne Zha 哪吒之魔童降世 Jiaozi 2020(93rd) Leap 夺冠 2021(94th) Cliff Walkers 悬崖之上 Zhang Yimou 2022(95th)Nice View奇迹·笨小孩Wen Muye 2023(96th) The Wandering Earth 2 流浪地球2 Frant Gwo 2024(97th) The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru 里斯本丸沉没 English, Mandarin Fang Li 2025(98th) Dead to Rights 南京照相馆 Mandarin Shen Ao 2026(99th) Once Upon a Time in the Middle East 欢迎来龙餐馆 / مرحبًا بكم في مطعمِ التنينِ Mandarin, Arabic, English Wen Muye
See also List of Academy Award winners and nominees for Best International Feature Film List of Academy Award-winning foreign language films Cinema of China List of Hong Kong submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film List of Taiwanese submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film
Notes
References
External links The Official Academy Awards Database The Motion Picture Credits Database IMDb Academy Awards Page