Greece has submitted films for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. 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 created for 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, Greece has been nominated five times. It last nomination was Dogtooth (2010).
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.
In the 1990s, Greek film law stipulated that the winner of the Greek Film Competition at the Thessaloniki Film Festival would represent Greece at the Oscars the following year. After Greek films that were mostly in English (and thus ineligible for the Foreign Language Film award) won the award in 2005 and 2007, Greece decided to revise the selection process. Beginning in 2008, the Greek submission is determined by an ad hoc committee appointed under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Culture. The first film to be selected under the new rules was Correction, since El Greco contained too much English to qualify.
In 2004, Greek film Nyfes was ruled ineligible for being in English. The country was allowed to change its submission, selecting A Touch of Spice.
All the submissions are primary in Greek. Below is a list of the films that have been submitted by Greece for review by the Academy for the award by the year of the submission and the respective Academy Award ceremony.
Year(Ceremony) Film title used in nomination Original title Director Result 1957(30th) The Lagoon of Desire Η λίμνη των πόθων Giorgos Zervos 1962(35th) Electra Ηλέκτρα 1963(36th) The Red Lanterns Τα κόκκινα φανάρια 1964(37th) Treason Προδοσία 1965(38th) Blood on the Land Το χώμα βάφτηκε κόκκινο 1966(39th) Queen of Clubs Ντάμα σπαθί 1968(41st) Imperiale Βυζαντινή Ραψωδία 1969(42nd) Girls in the Sun Κορίτσια στον Ήλιο 1975(48th) The Travelling Players Ο Θίασος 1977(50th) Iphigenia Iφιγένεια 1981(54th) The Man with the Carnation Ο άνθρωπος με το γαρίφαλο Nikos Tzimas 1982(55th) Angel Άγγελος 1987(60th) Theofilos Θεόφιλος Lakis Papastathis 1988(61st) In the Shadow of Fear Στη σκιά του τρόμου Yiorgos Karypidis 1989(62nd) Landscape in the Mist Τοπίο στην ομίχλη 1990(63rd) Love Under the Date-Tree Έρωτας στη χουρμαδιά Stavros Tsiolis 1995(68th) Ulysses' Gaze Το Βλέμμα του Οδυσσέα 1997(70th) Slaughter of the Cock Η Σφαγή του Κόκορα Andreas Pantzis 1998(71st) Eternity and a Day Μια αιωνιότητα και μια μέρα 1999(72nd) From the Edge of the City Από την άκρη της πόλης 2000(73rd) Peppermint Costas Kapakas 2001(74th) In Good Company Ένας κι ένας Nikos Zapatinas 2002(75th) The Only Journey of His Life Το μόνον της ζωής του ταξείδιον Lakis Papastathis 2003(76th) Think It Over Θα το Μετανιώσεις Katerina Evangelakou 2004(77th) A Touch of Spice Πολίτικη Κουζίνα Tassos Boulmetis 2006(79th) Chariton's Choir Η χωρωδία του Χαρίτωνα Grigoris Karantinakis 2007(80th) Eduart 2008(81st) Correction Διόρθωση Thanos Anastopoulos 2009(82nd) Slaves in Their Bonds Οι Σκλάβοι στα Δεσμά τους Adonis Lykouresis 2010(83rd) Dogtooth Κυνόδοντας 2011(84th) Attenberg Athina Rachel Tsangari 2012(85th) Unfair World Άδικος Κόσμος Filippos Tsitos 2013(86th) Boy Eating the Bird's Food Το Αγόρι Τρώει το Φαγητό του Πουλιού Ektoras Lygizos 2014(87th) Little England Μικρά Αγγλία Pantelis Voulgaris 2015(88th) Xenia Ξενία Panos H. Koutras 2016(89th) Chevalier Athina Rachel Tsangari 2017(90th) Amerika Square Amerika Square Yannis Sakaridis 2018(91st) Polyxeni Πολυξένη Dora Masklavanou 2019(92nd) When Tomatoes Met Wagner Όταν ο Βάγκνερ Συνάντησε τις Ντομάτες Marianna Economou 2020(93rd) Apples Μήλα Christos Nikou 2021(94th) Digger Georgis Grigorakis 2022(95th) Magnetic Fields Μαγνητικά Πεδία Yorgos Gousis 2023(96th) Behind the Haystacks Πίσω από τις θημωνιές Asimina Proedrou 2024(97th)Murderess Φόνισσα Eva Nathena 2025(98th) Arcadia Αρκάντια Yorgos Zois 2026(99th) Broken Vein Σπασμένη φλέβα Yannis Economides
2024 Greek Academy Awards Submission Scandal In August 2024, a significant controversy erupted within the Greek film industry regarding the selection process for the country's submission to the 97th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film. The scandal involved accusations of interference by the Greek Culture Ministry in the selection committee's work, leading to widespread protests from filmmakers and industry organizations.
The controversy began when acclaimed Greek filmmaker Vasilis Kekatos, a winner of the Short Film Palme d'Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, publicly claimed on Facebook that he and other members of the selection committee had been abruptly replaced by the ministry. Despite having been provided with codes and passwords to watch and rate the submitted Greek films, Kekatos alleged that the ministry had intervened to appoint a different committee. The Greek Culture Ministry responded to these allegations by denying that Kekatos and the other individuals mentioned in his post were ever officially chosen for the committee. The ministry asserted that the official committee members had been announced through its official channels on August 13, 2024.
The scandal had a significant impact on the submission process. In protest of the ministry's actions, 21 out of 26 films that had submitted their files withdrew from consideration, and two members of the newly appointed committee resigned. Additionally, local film organizations, unions, and the Hellenic Film Academy issued public statements demanding an investigation into the matter.
Furthermore, one of the newly appointed committee members, film critic Dimitris Danikas, faced additional scrutiny, as he had been expelled from the Hellenic Film Academy due to publications deemed inconsistent with the Academy's moral standards.
Following these events, Greek Deputy Culture Minister Jason Fotilas held a press conference on August 22, 2024, where he claimed that a Culture Ministry employee had taken the initiative to contact Kekatos and the other committee members on an unofficial list from the ministry’s Directorate of Cinema and Performance Arts, before the Deputy Minister had officially accepted it.
According to Fotilas, “the employee apologized and said he acted out of overzealousness so that the procedures would run faster and we could save time," since the Academy’s August 15, 2024, deadline was fast approaching, and the Deputy Minister’s official approval was only a formality.
Although several media questions remained unanswered during the press conference, Fotilas stated that he was open to discussions with the Hellenic Film Academy to find a solution that would secure the validity of the procedure, even though the Academy had complained that it had been trying for months to get an appointment with him to discuss the current selection process and other industry issues.
Following the press conference, the Academy issued a statement asking the Deputy Culture Minister to consider the complete cancellation of the procedure and the non-submission of a proposal by our country for this year's Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
The 2024 Greek Academy Awards submission scandal, which garnered international film media coverage, raised concerns about the transparency and fairness of the selection process. Critics argued that the government's involvement had compromised the independence of the committee and undermined the credibility of the Greek submission. The controversy also highlighted the need for reforms to ensure a more equitable and transparent system for future submissions.
See also List of Academy Award winners and nominees for Best International Feature Film List of Academy Award-winning foreign language films List of Greek award-winning films in International Film Festivals Cinema of Greece
Notes
References
External links The Official Academy Awards Database The Motion Picture Credits Database IMDb Academy Awards Page