This is a list of submissions to the 69th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film was created in 1956 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to honour non-English-speaking films produced outside the United States.[1] The award is handed out annually, and is accepted by the winning film's director, although it is considered an award for the submitting country as a whole.[2] Countries are invited by the Academy to submit their best films for competition according to strict rules, with only one film being accepted from each country.[2]
For the 69th Academy Awards, thirty-nine films were submitted in the category Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The submission deadline was set on November 1, 1996.[3] Albania and Georgia submitted films for the first time, as did Australia which submitted the multilingual Floating Life in Cantonese, English and German. The highlighted titles were the five nominated films, which came from the Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Norway and Russia. Czech Republic won the Oscar for its drama Kolya.[4]
Submitting country | Film title used in nomination | Original title | Language(s) | Director(s) | Result |
Albania | Kolonel Bunker | Albanian | Kujtim Çashku | Not nominated |
Algeria | Hi Cousin! | Salut cousin! | French, Arabic | Merzak Allouache | Not nominated |
Argentina | Eva Peron | Eva Perón | Spanish | Juan Carlos Desanzo | Not nominated |
Australia | Floating Life | 浮生 | Cantonese, English, German | Clara Law | Not nominated |
Austria | Hannah | German | Reinhard Schwabenitzky | Not nominated |
Belarus | From Hell to Hell | Из ада в ад | German, Russian, Yiddish | Dmitriy Astrakhan | Not nominated |
Belgium | The Eighth Day | Le huitième jour | French | Jaco Van Dormael | Not nominated |
Brazil | Tieta of Agreste | Tieta do Agreste | Brazilian Portuguese | Carlos Diegues | Not nominated |
Canada | Not Me! | Sous-Sol | French | Pierre Gang | Not nominated |
Colombia | Oedipus Mayor | Edipo Alcalde | Spanish | Jorge Alí Triana | Not nominated |
Croatia | Nausikaya | Serbo-Croatian | Vicko Ruić | Not nominated |
Cuba | Think of Me | Pon tu pensamiento en mí | Spanish | Arturo Sotto Díaz | Not nominated |
Czech Republic | Kolya | Kolja | Czech, Slovak, Russian | Jan Svěrák | Won Academy Award |
Denmark | Hamsun | Danish, Swedish, German, Norwegian | Jan Troell | Not nominated |
Finland | Drifting Clouds | Kauas pilvet karkaavat | Finnish | Aki Kaurismäki | Withdrawn |
France | Ridicule | French | Patrice Leconte | Nominated |
Georgia | A Chef in Love | შეყვარებული კულინარის 1001 რეცეპტი | French, Georgian, Russian | Nana Jorjadze | Nominated |
Germany | Deathmaker | Der Totmacher | German | Romuald Karmakar | Not nominated |
Hong Kong | Hu-Du-Men | 虎度門 | Cantonese | Shu Kei | Not nominated |
Hungary | Vaska Easoff | Haggyállógva Vászka | Hungarian | Péter Gothár | Not nominated |
Iceland | Devil's Island | Djöflaeyjan | Icelandic | Friðrik Þór Friðriksson | Not nominated |
India | Indian | இந்தியன் | Tamil | S. Shankar | Not nominated |
Israel | Saint Clara | קלרה הקדושה | Hebrew, Russian, French, English | Ari Folman & Ori Sivan | Not nominated |
Italy | My Generation | Mia Generazione | Italian | Wilma Labate | Not nominated |
Japan | Gakko II | 学校II | Japanese | Yoji Yamada | Not nominated |
Mexico | Between Pancho Villa and a Naked Woman | Entre Pancho Villa y una mujer desnuda | Spanish | Sabina Berman & Isabelle Tardans | Not nominated |
Netherlands | Long Live the Queen | Lang leve de koningin | Dutch | Esmé Lammers | Not nominated |
Norway | The Other Side of Sunday | Søndagsengler | Norwegian | Berit Nesheim | Nominated |
Philippines | Dead Sure | Segurista | Tagalog | Tikoy Aguiluz | Not nominated |
Poland | At Full Gallop | Cwal | Polish | Krzysztof Zanussi | Not nominated |
Romania | State of Things | Stare de Fapt | Romanian | Stere Gulea | Not nominated |
Russia | Prisoner of the Mountains | Кавказский пленник | Russian | Sergei Bodrov | Nominated |
Slovenia | Felix | Feliks | Slovene | Božo Šprajc | Not nominated |
Spain | Bwana | Spanish, English, German | Imanol Uribe | Not nominated |
Sweden | Jerusalem | Swedish | Bille August | Not nominated |
Switzerland | Les Agneaux | French | Marcel Schüpbach | Not nominated |
Taiwan | Tonight Nobody Goes Home | 今天不回家 | Mandarin | Sylvia Chang | Not nominated |
Vietnam | Gone, Gone Forever Gone | Bụi Hồng | Vietnamese | Hồ Quang Minh | Not nominated |
Yugoslavia | Pretty Village, Pretty Flame | Лепа села лепо горе | Bosnian, Serbian, English | Srđan Dragojević | Not nominated |
- Finland's submission, Drifting Clouds, was withdrawn by the director before official screenings began, therefore, it did not compete.