List of Academy Award–winning foreign-language films

{{Short description|None}}

{{main|List of Academy Award winners and nominees for Best International Feature Film}}The following is a list of foreign-language films that have won an Academy Award.Image:Jigokumon poster.jpg's Gate of Hell, a recipient of the Academy Award for Best Costume Design as well as an Academy Honorary Award]]

Criteria

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has given Academy Awards to foreign language films since 1945. The Academy defines a foreign language film as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue. Films that meet these criteria are eligible for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. They can be nominated for awards in categories other than Best International Feature Film provided that they have been commercially released in Los Angeles County and comply with the special rules governing those categories. In addition, foreign-language films produced in the United States are not eligible for Best International Feature Film, but are eligible for awards in other categories.{{cite web|title=Special Rules for the Best Foreign Language Film Award |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |url=http://www.oscars.org/79academyawards/rules/rule14.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071231021743/http://www.oscars.org/79academyawards/rules/rule14.html |archive-date=2007-12-31 |access-date=2008-07-13 |url-status=dead }}

History

As of 2023, 27 foreign language films have won Academy Awards outside the Best International Feature Film category. The foreign language films with the most awards are Sweden's Fanny and Alexander, Taiwan's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, South Korea’s Parasite, and Germany’s All Quiet on the Western Front with four awards each, including the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.{{cite web|url=http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/help/statistics/forlangothercat.html|title=Foreign Language Films Other Categories|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|date=2008-02-24|access-date=2008-07-13|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926215131/http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/help/statistics/forlangothercat.html|archive-date=2011-09-26}} Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Roma received ten Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, the highest number of nominations ever garnered for a foreign language film.{{cite news|url=http://english.people.com.cn/english/200103/26/eng20010326_65998.html|title='Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' Wins Best Foreign Film Oscar|newspaper=People's Daily|date=2001-03-26|access-date=2008-07-13|archive-date=2012-10-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011064754/http://english.people.com.cn/english/200103/26/eng20010326_65998.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/movieawards/oscars/2006-02-27-groundbreaking-films_x.htm|title=When Oscar stood tall|newspaper=USA Today|author=Clark, Mike|date=2006-02-27|access-date=2008-08-20|archive-date=2008-12-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202154341/http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/movieawards/oscars/2006-02-27-groundbreaking-films_x.htm|url-status=live}}

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.{{cite web|title=History of the Academy Awards – Page 2 |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |url=http://www.oscars.org/aboutacademyawards/history02.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071228191158/http://www.oscars.org/aboutacademyawards/history02.html |archive-date=2007-12-28 |access-date=2008-07-13 |url-status=dead }} 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. Before the competitive award was created in 1956, the Board of Governors of the Academy voted on a film every year that was considered the best foreign language film released in the United States, and there were no submissions. These films were recipients of Academy Honorary Awards.{{cite web|title=History of the Academy Awards – Page 1 |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |url=http://www.oscars.org/aboutacademyawards/history01.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071220020230/http://www.oscars.org/aboutacademyawards/history01.html |archive-date=2007-12-20 |access-date=2008-07-13 |url-status=dead }}

Other categories

{{main|List of foreign-language films nominated for Academy Awards}}

{{see also|List of actors nominated for Academy Awards for non-English performances}}

Films that are eligible for the Best International Feature Film category are able to compete for other Academy Awards if they had been commercially released in Los Angeles County and fulfill the requirements of the categories they are participating in. Among the foreign language films that have won Academy Awards outside the Best Foreign Language Film category, six have won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film while two, Shoeshinehttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038913/awards/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221112124823/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038913/awards/ |date=2022-11-12 }} {{User-generated source|certain=yes|date=March 2022}} and Gate of Hell have received an Academy Honorary Award.{{cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/2007/more/news/toho-s-film-catalog-riddled-with-gems-1117970739/|title=Toho's film catalog riddled with gems|magazine=Variety|author=Mermelstein, David|date=2007-08-23|access-date=2008-07-13|archive-date=2008-12-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201085950/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117970739.html?categoryid=2661&cs=1|url-status=live}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.variety.com/awardcentral_article/VR1117856491.html?nav=history|title=Best Foreign Film|magazine=Variety|author=Variety Staff|date=2007-03-01|access-date=2008-07-13|archive-date=2012-10-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021185530/http://www.variety.com/awardcentral_article/VR1117856491.html?nav=history|url-status=live}} Parasite is the only foreign film to win Best Picture so far although The Artist was the first silent film in French production to win Best Picture, but it was not submitted for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film due to it being ineligible. Roma won the award because it was a co-production of United States and Mexico.

class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" border="1" style="width:98%"
scope=col| Year
(Ceremony)

!scope=col| Film title used in nomination

!scope=col| Original title

!scope=col| Category

!scope=col| Winner(s)

!scope=col| Country

!scope=col| Language(s)

align="center" | 1945
(18th)

| colspan="2" scope="row" | Marie-Louise

| Writing
(original screenplay)

| {{sortname|Richard|Schweizer}}

| {{flagicon|Switzerland}} Switzerland

| German

align="center" | 1954
(27th)

| scope="row" | Gate of Hell{{ref label|Note1|A|A}}

| 地獄門

| Costume Design
(color)

| {{sortname|Sanzo|Wada}}

| {{flagicon|Japan|1870}} Japan

| Japanese

align="center" | 1956
(29th)

| scope="row" | The Red Balloon

| Le ballon rouge

| Writing
(original screenplay)

| {{sortname|Albert|Lamorisse}}

| {{flagicon|France}} France

| French

align="center" | 1959
(32nd)

| scope="row" | Serengeti Shall Not Die

| Serengeti darf nicht sterben

| Documentary Feature

| {{sortname|Bernhard|Grzimek}}

| {{flagicon|Germany}} Germany

| German

align="center" | 1960
(33rd)

| scope="row" | Never on Sunday

| Poté tin Kyriakí(Ποτέ την Κυριακή)

| Music
(original song)

| {{sortname|Manos |Hadjidakis}}
for "Never On Sunday"

| {{flagicon|Greece}} Greece

| Greece

align="center" | 1961
(34th)

| colspan="2" scope="row" | La Dolce Vita

| Costume Design
(black-and-white)

| {{sortname|Piero|Gherardi}}

| rowspan="3" | {{flagicon|Italy}} Italy

| Italian, English, French, German

align="center" | 1962
(35th)

| scope="row" | Divorce Italian Style

| Divorzio all'italiana

| Writing
(story and screenplay)

| {{sortname|Ennio|De Concini}}
Alfredo Giannetti
Pietro Germi

| Italian

align="center" | 1963
(36th)

| colspan="2" scope="row" | {{ref label|Note1|B|B}}

| Costume Design
(black-and-white)

| {{sortname|Piero|Gherardi}}

| Italian, English, French, German

align="center" | 1966
(39th)

| scope="row" | A Man and a Woman{{ref label|Note1|B|B}}

| Un homme et une femme

| Writing
(story and screenplay)

| {{sortname|Claude|Lelouch}}
(story and screenplay)
Pierre Uytterhoeven
(screenplay)

| {{flagicon|France}} France

| French

align="center" | 1969
(42nd)

| colspan="2" scope="row" | Z{{ref label|Note1|B|B}}

| Film Editing

| {{sortname|Françoise|Bonnot}}

| {{flagicon|Algeria}} Algeria

| French

align="center" | 1973
(46th)

| scope="row" | Cries and Whispers

| Viskningar och rop

| Cinematography

| {{sortname|Sven|Nykvist}}

| rowspan="2" | {{flagicon|Sweden}} Sweden

| Swedish

align="center" | 1983
(56th)

| scope="row" | Fanny and Alexander{{ref label|Note1|B|B}}

| Fanny och Alexander

| Art Direction
Cinematography
Costume Design

| {{sortname|Anna|Asp}}
(art direction)
Sven Nykvist
(cinematography)
Marik Vos
(costume design)

| Swedish, German, Yiddish, English

align="center" | 1985
(58th)

| scope="row" | Ran

| 乱

| Costume Design

| {{sortname|Emi|Wada}}

| {{flagicon|Japan|1870}} Japan

| Japanese

align="center" | 1990
(63rd)

| colspan="2" scope="row" | Cyrano de Bergerac

| Costume Design

| {{sortname|Franca|Squarciapino}}

| {{flagicon|France}} France

| French

align="center" | 1995
(68th)

| scope="row" | The Postman

| Il postino

| Music
(original dramatic score)

| {{sortname|Luis Enrique|Bacalov}}

| rowspan="2" | {{flagicon|Italy}} Italy

| Italian, Spanish

align="center" | 1998
(71st)

| scope="row" | Life Is Beautiful{{ref label|Note1|B|B}}

| La vita è bella

| Actor in a Leading Role
Music
(original dramatic score)

| {{sortname|Roberto|Benigni}}
(best actor)
Nicola Piovani
(original dramatic score)

| Italian, German, English

align="center" | 2000
(73rd)

| scope="row" | Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon{{ref label|Note1|B|B}}{{Ref label|Note5|E|E}}

| 臥虎藏龍

| Art Direction
Cinematography
Music
(original score)

| {{sortname|Tim|Yip|Timmy Yip}}
(art direction)
Peter Pau
(cinematography)
Tan Dun
(original score)

| {{flagicon|Taiwan}} Taiwan
{{flagicon|China}} China
{{flagicon|Hong Kong}} Hong Kong
{{flagicon|United States}} United States

| Mandarin

align="center" | 2002
(75th)

| scope="row" | Talk to Her

| Hable con ella

| Writing
(original screenplay)

| {{sortname|Pedro|Almodóvar}}

| {{flagicon|Spain}} Spain

| Spanish

align="center" | 2004
(77th)

| scope="row" | The Motorcycle Diaries{{Ref label|Note5|E|E}}

| Diarios de motocicleta

| Music
(original song)

| {{sortname|Jorge|Drexler}}
for "Al otro lado del río"

| {{flagicon|Brazil}} Brazil
{{flagicon|Argentina}} Argentina
{{flagicon|Chile}} Chile
{{flagicon|France}} France
{{flagicon|Germany}} Germany
{{flagicon|Peru}} Peru
{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} United Kingdom
{{flagicon|United States}} United States

| Quechua, Spanish

align="center" | 2006
(79th)

| colspan="2" scope="row" | Letters from Iwo Jima{{ref label|Note3|C|C}}{{Ref label|Note5|E|E}}

| Sound Editing

| {{sortname|Bub|Asman}}
Alan Robert Murray

| {{flagicon|United States}} United States

| Japanese, English

align="center" | 2006
(79th)

| scope="row" | Pan's Labyrinth

| El laberinto del fauno

| Art Direction
Cinematography
Makeup

| {{sortname|Eugenio|Caballero}}
(art direction)
Pilar Revuelta
(set decoration)
Guillermo Navarro
(cinematography)
David Martí
(makeup)
Montse Ribé
(makeup)

| {{flagicon|Mexico}} Mexico
{{flagicon|Spain}} Spain

| Spanish

align="center" | 2007
(80th)

| scope="row" | La Vie en Rose{{Ref label|Note5|E|E}}

| La Môme

| Actress in a Leading Role
Makeup

| {{sortname|Marion|Cotillard}}
(actress)
Jan Archibald
(makeup)
Didier Lavergne
(makeup)

| {{flagicon|France}} France
{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} United Kingdom
{{flagicon|Czech Republic}} Czech Republic

| French

align="center" | 2011
(84th)

| colspan="2" scope="row" | The Artist{{Ref label|Note4|D|D}}

|Picture
Director
Actor in a Leading Role
Music
Costume Design

|Thomas Langmann (producer)
Michel Hazanavicius (director)
Jean Dujardin (actor)
Ludovic Bource (composer)
Mark Bridges (costume design)

|{{flagicon|France}} France

|Silent film

align="center" | 2018
(91st)

| colspan="2" scope="row" | Roma{{ref label|Note1|B|B}}{{Ref label|Note5|E|E}}

| Director
Cinematography

| {{sortname|Alfonso|Cuarón}}
(director, cinematography)

| {{flagicon|Mexico}} Mexico

| Spanish
Mixtec

align="center" | 2019
(92nd)

| scope="row" | Parasite{{ref label|Note1|B|B}}

| 기생충

| Picture
Director
Original Screenplay

| Kwak Sin-ae
(picture)
Bong Joon-ho
(picture, director, screenplay)
Han Jin-won
(screenplay)

| {{flagicon|South Korea}} South Korea

| Korean

align="center" rowspan="2" | 2022
(95th)

| scope="row" | All Quiet on the Western Front{{ref label|Note1|B|B}}

| Im Westen nichts Neues

| Cinematography
Music
Production Design

| James Friend
(cinematography)
Christian M. Goldbeck
(art direction)
Ernestine Hipper
(set decoration)
Volker Bertelmann (music)

| {{flagicon|Germany}} Germany

| German, French

colspan="2" scope="row" | RRR

| Music
(original song)

| {{sortname| M. M.| Keeravani}} (music)
Chandrabose (lyrics)
for "Naatu Naatu"

| {{flagicon|India}} India

| Telugu, English

align="center" rowspan="5" | 2023
(96th)

| scope="row" | Godzilla Minus One

| ゴジラ-1.0

| Visual Effects

| {{sortname| Takashi| Yamazaki}}
Kiyoko Shibuya
Masaki Takahashi
Tatsuji Nojima

| {{flagicon|Japan}} Japan

| Japanese

colspan="2" scope="row" | The Zone of Interest{{ref label|Note1|B|B}}

| Sound

| {{sortname| Tarn| Willers}}
Johnnie Burn

| {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} United Kingdom

| German

The Boy and the Heron

|Kimitachi wa Dō Ikiru ka

君たちはどう生きるか

|Animated Feature

|Hayao Miyazaki
(director)
Toshio Suzuki
(producer)

|{{flagicon|Japan}} Japan

|Japanese

20 Days in Mariupol

|20 днів у Маріуполі

|Documentary Feature

|Mstyslav Chernov
(director and producer)
Michelle Mizner
(producer)
Raney Aronson-Rath
(producer)

|{{flagicon|Ukraine}} Ukraine

|Ukrainian, English, Russian

Anatomy of a Fall

|Anatomie d'une chute

|Original Screenplay

|Arthur Harari
Justine Triet

|{{flagicon|France}} France

|French, English

Notes

Academy Award-winning foreign language films using English dubbing

class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" width="98%""
scope=col| Year
(Ceremony)

!scope=col| Film title used in nomination

!scope=col| Original title

!scope=col| Category

!scope=col| Winner(s)

!scope=col| Country

!scope=col| Language(s)

align="center" | 2002
(75th)

| scope="row" | Spirited Away

| 千と千尋の神隠し

| Animated Feature

| {{sortname|Hayao|Miyazaki}}

| {{flagicon|Japan}} Japan

| Japanese

align="center" | 2005
(78th)

| scope="row" | March of the Penguins

| La Marche de l'empereur

| Documentary Feature

| {{sortname|Luc|Jacquet}}

| {{flagicon|France}} France

| French

2023
(96th)

|The Boy and the Heron

|君たちはどう生きるか

|Animated Feature

|{{sortname|Hayao|Miyazaki}}

|{{flagicon|Japan}} Japan

|Japanese

References

;General

{{refbegin}}

  • {{cite web|url=http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/help/statistics/forlangothercat.html|title=Foreign Language Films Other Categories|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|date=2008-02-24|access-date=2008-07-11|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926215131/http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/help/statistics/forlangothercat.html|archive-date=2011-09-26}}

{{refend}}

;Specific

{{reflist}}