List of foreign-language films nominated for Academy Awards

This article lists all the foreign language films which have been nominated for or won Academy Awards in any category, not just the International Feature Film category (known before the 2019 awards as Best Foreign Language Film) itself. The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are among the world's oldest and most prestigious film prizes. They were first handed out on May 16, 1929 by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and have been given annually ever since. Even though a separate prize has existed for foreign language films since the 1956 Academy Awards, such films continue to be eligible for Academy Awards in other categories, including Best Picture, provided that they have been commercially released in Los Angeles County, California and that they comply with the special rules governing those categories. The French comedy À Nous la Liberté (1931) was the first foreign language film to be nominated for an Academy Award (Best Art Direction); the German-language Swiss drama Marie-Louise (1944) was the first to actually win one (Best Original Screenplay).

Although a Los Angeles theatrical release is not required for eligibility for the Best International Feature Film Award itself, it is a prerequisite for consideration for Academy Awards in other categories. In the past, this had enabled some foreign language films to receive nominations over multiple years, the most recent case being that of the Italian comedy-drama Amarcord (1973). Because such films were still unreleased in Los Angeles when they were submitted to the Academy, they could only be nominated in the Foreign Language Film category. However, upon their Los Angeles release, they became eligible for other Academy Awards, and often ended up receiving nominations in various categories one year after their initial Foreign Language Film nomination. Presently, such nominations over multiple years are no longer possible since the current rules of the Academy unambiguously state that: "Films nominated for the Best International Feature Film Award shall not be eligible for Academy Awards consideration in any category in any subsequent Awards year." This restriction, however, does not apply to submitted films that were not selected as nominees. The Brazilian film City of God (2002) was thus able to receive four Academy Award nominations for the 2003 Academy Awards, even though it had failed to garner a Foreign Language Film nomination as Brazil's official submission for the 2002 Academy Awards.

Background


Foreign films are not to be confused with foreign language films. A foreign film is a motion picture produced outside the United States, regardless of the language used in its dialogue track. A foreign language film, on the other hand, is a predominantly non-English speaking motion picture, regardless of where it was produced. Although the overwhelming majority of foreign language films are foreign, this is not always the case: in recent years, for instance, several non-English speaking American films such as The Passion of the Christ (2004), Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) or Minari (2020) have been nominated for Academy Awards (American films have never been eligible for the Best International Feature Film Award, even if none of the dialogue is in English). Such films are included in this list. On the other hand, foreign films where the majority of the dialogue is in English — such as the Indo-British co-production of Gandhi (1982) — are not taken into account. The article also includes films such as the Japanese anime Spirited Away (2001) that were initially released in their native country in a foreign language but were nominated by the Academy for the English-dubbed version under which they were shown in Los Angeles. The films are grouped by award category, and are arranged chronologically within each category. The years are listed as per Academy convention, and generally correspond to the year of film release; the ceremonies are always held the following year. The winning films are in bold and in light blue background; the presence of an Oscar statuette indicates the official recipient of the award.

Best Picture
The Best Picture category has existed since the creation of the Academy Awards. Its name has changed several times over the years. When Grand Illusion (1937) was nominated, the name of the category was Outstanding Production; the Best Picture designation has been continuously used since the 1962 Academy Awards. Individual producers have been officially nominated for this award since the 1951 Academy Awards. Previously, the nominations went to the production companies instead.

Documentary Feature
The Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature category has existed since 1942.

Animated Feature Film
The Animated Feature Film category has existed since the 2001 Academy Awards. The intended recipient(s) of this award must be designated by those responsible for the production of the film. Agreement on the designated recipient(s) has to be settled prior to the film's submission to the Academy. Unlike other Academy Awards, the Best Animated Feature Film Award therefore does not always go to the same crew member. However, the person(s) to whom it is given must always be "the key creative individual most clearly responsible for the overall achievement or a two-person team with shared and equal directing credit".

Art Direction/Production Design
The Production Design category, formerly named Best Art Direction until 2012, has existed since the creation of the Academy Awards. Until 1939, only one award was given. From 1940 until 1966, two awards were given, one for black-and-white films, the other for color films. The two awards were briefly merged at the 1957 and 1958 Academy Awards, and were permanently combined once again in a single category starting 1967. All the foreign language films that were nominated for the Art Direction Award between 1940 and 1966 received their nomination in the Black-and-White category, with the exception of Juliet of the Spirits (1965), which was nominated in the Color category.

Cinematography
The Cinematography category has existed since the creation of the Academy Awards. Until 1938, only one award was given. From 1939 until 1966, two awards were given, one for black-and-white films, the other for color films. The two awards were briefly merged at the 1957 Academy Awards, and were permanently combined once again in a single category starting 1967. However, since foreign language films were not nominated for the Cinematography Award prior to the 1966 Academy Awards, they were unaffected by the splits and mergers that took place in this category.

Costume Design
The Costume Design category has existed since the 1948 Academy Awards. Until 1966, two awards were given, one for black-and-white films, the other for color films. The two awards were briefly merged at the 1957 and 1958 Academy Awards, and were permanently combined once again in a single category starting 1967. All the foreign language films that were nominated for the Costume Design Award between 1948 and 1966 received their nomination in the Black-and-White category, with the exception of Gate of Hell (1953) and Juliet of the Spirits (1965), which were nominated in the Color category.

Directing
The Directing category has existed since the creation of the Academy Awards. Lina Wertmüller's nomination for Seven Beauties (1976) made her the first-ever woman to be nominated for the Directing Award and the only one ever nominated for a foreign language film.

Film Editing
The Film Editing category has existed since the 1934 Academy Awards.

Makeup
The Makeup category has existed since the 1981 Academy Awards. No award was handed out at the 1983 Academy Awards.

Music (Scoring)
The Music (Scoring) category.

Music (Best Original Song)
The Music (Best Original Song) category has existed since the 1934 Academy Awards. Its name was changed from Song to Original Song starting 1975 onwards. The designation Song — Original for the Picture had previously been used between 1968 and 1972. This list includes all nominated non-English language songs, regardless of their respective original film's primary language.

Sound Mixing
The Sound Mixing category existed from 1930 through 2019, after which it and the Sound Editing category were combined into a single award for Best Sound.

Sound Editing
The Sound Editing category existed from 1963 through 2019, after which it and the Sound Mixing category were combined into a single award for Best Sound.

Visual Effects
The Visual Effects category has existed since 1928.

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
The Adapted Screenplay category has existed since the creation of the awards.

Writing (Original Screenplay)
The Original Screenplay category has existed since 1940.