Switzerland has submitted films for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film since their first entry in 1961. 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 Swiss submission is decided annually by the Federal Office for Culture.http://www.swissfilms.ch/detail_n.asp?id=2137729389
As of 2026, Switzerland has been nominated five times, winning twice for Dangerous Moves (1984) and Journey of Hope (1990).
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.
Since they began submitting regularly in 1972, they have only failed to enter a film on three occasions: 1977, 1978 and 2003. In 1994, the Swiss entered but were disqualified in a controversial ruling in which AMPAS determined that one of the favorites, Krzysztof Kieslowski's Three Colours: Red, was not a majority Swiss production.
Filmmaker Alain Tanner had had his films selected five times, but none have been nominated. Xavier Koller and Swiss-based French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard have each been selected to represent Switzerland three times.
The country won twice, for Dangerous Moves (1984) and Journey of Hope (1990). The latter was also it's last nominated film in the category. Other nominated films include: First Love (1970), L'Invitation (1973), and The Boat Is Full (1981).
Vitus (2006), Sister (2012), My Life as a Courgette (2016), and Late Shift (2025), advanced to the December shortlists, but were not nominated.
My Life as a Courgette (2016) was nominated in the Best Animated Feature Film category instead.
Switzerland has four official languages. Twenty-two of the Swiss submissions have been French-language films, while fourteen were in some variety of German, and only one in Italian, but none have been in Romansh. In addition, films in other languages have also been selected, including the 1990's winner Journey of Hope, which was mainly in Turkish.
Below is a list of the films that have been submitted by Switzerland 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 Result 1961(34th) The Shadows Grow Longer Die Schatten werden länger German 1970(43rd) First Love Erste Liebe 1972(45th) La Salamandre French 1973(46th) L'Invitation 1974(47th) The Middle of the World Le Milieu du monde 1975(48th) Confrontation Konfrontation Swiss German 1976(49th) Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000 Jonas qui aura 25 ans en l'an 2000 French 1979(52nd) Les petites fugues Les petites fugues 1980(53rd) Every Man for Himself Sauve qui peut (la vie) 1981(54th) The Boat Is Full Das Boot ist Voll German 1982(55th) Yol Turkish, Kurdish & 1983(56th) In the White City Dans la ville blanche French 1984(57th) Dangerous Moves La Diagonale du fou 1985(58th) Alpine Fire Höhenfeuer Swiss German 1986(59th) Tanner Der Schwarze Tanner 1987(60th) If the Sun Never Returns Si le soleil ne revenait pas French 1988(61st) La Méridienne 1989(62nd) My Dear Subject Mon cher sujet 1990(63rd) Journey of Hope Reise der Hoffnung Turkish, Swiss German, Italian 1991(64th) Der Berg German 1992(65th) Off Season Hors Saison French 1993(66th) The Diary of Lady M Le Journal de Lady M 1994(67th) Three Colours: Red Trois Couleurs: Rouge 1995(68th) Adultery: A User's Guide Adultère, mode d'emploi 1996(69th) Les Agneaux Marcel Schüpbach 1997(70th) For Ever Mozart 1998(71st) War in the Highlands La Guerre Dans le Haut Pays 1999(72nd) Beresina, or The Last Days of Switzerland Beresina oder Die letzten Tage der Schweiz Swiss German 2000(73rd) Gripsholm German 2001(74th) In Praise of Love Éloge de l'amour French 2002(75th) Aime ton père 2004(77th) Mein Name Ist Bach German Dominique de Rivaz 2005(78th) Tout un Hiver sans Feu French Greg Zglinski 2006(79th) Vitus Swiss German 2007(80th) Late Bloomers Die Herbstzeitlosen Bettina Oberli 2008(81st) The Friend Der Freund Micha Lewinsky 2009(82nd) Home French 2010(83rd) La petite chambre Stéphanie Chuat and Véronique Reymond 2011(84th) Summer Games Giochi d'estate Italian Rolando Colla 2012(85th) Sister L'Enfant d'en haut French 2013(86th) More than Honey German 2014(87th) The Circle Der Kreis Stefan Haupt 2015(88th) Iraqi Odyssey Arabic Samir 2016(89th) My Life as a Courgette Ma vie de Courgette French Claude Barras 2017(90th) The Divine Order Die göttliche Ordnung German Petra Biondina Volpe 2018(91st) Eldorado Markus Imhoof 2019(92nd) The Awakening of Motti Wolkenbruch Wolkenbruchs wunderliche Reise in die Arme einer Schickse German, Yiddish Michael Steiner 2020(93rd) My Little Sister Schwesterlein German, French, English Stéphanie Chuat, Véronique Reymond 2021(94th) Olga French, Ukrainian Elie Grappe 2022(95th) A Piece of Sky Drii Winter Swiss German Michael Koch 2023(96th) Thunder Foudre French Carmen Jaquier 2024(97th) Queens Reinas Spanish Klaudia Reynicke 2025(98th) Late Shift Heldin German Petra Volpe 2026(99th) Who Is Still AliveQui vit encore Arabic Nicolas Wadimoff
Shortlisted Films YearFilms2014Dreamland · I Am the Keeper · Keep Rollin''' · Left Foot Right Foot|- !2015 |Chubby · Dora or the Sexual Neuroses of Our Parents · No Place to Stay · Pause · Vanity · War|- !2019 |The Innocent · The Reformer. Zwingli: A Life's Portrait. · Those Who Work|- !2021 |Azor · Caged Birds · The Fam · The Girl and the Spider · Lost Island · Monte Verità · Neighbours · Nothing But the Sun|- !2022 |The Black Spider · Continental Drift (South) · A Fleeting Encounter · The Line · Semret · Soul of a Beast · Unrest · The Water|- !2023 |Becoming Giulia · Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry · A Forgotten Man · Last Dance · Let Me Go · Röbi Geht|- !2024 |Dog on Trial|- !2025 |Hanami · The Safe House|- !2026 |Cosmos · Silent Rebellion''
See also List of Academy Award winners and nominees for Best International Feature Film List of Academy Award-winning foreign language films Cinema of Switzerland
Notes
References
External links The Official Academy Awards Database The Motion Picture Credits Database IMDb Academy Awards Page