Egypt has submitted films for consideration for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film since 1958, when Youssef Chahine's Cairo Station became both the first African and the first Arab film to contend for the award. The award is handed out annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue.
As of 2026, Egypt has submitted forty films, but has never been nominated.
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.
Submissions between 1958 and 1960 were submitted under the name of the United Arab Republic, which was the formal name of Egypt at the time.
All films submitted are primarily in Arabic. Below is a list of the films that have been submitted by Egypt for review by the academy for the award by year.
Year(Ceremony) Film title used in nomination Original title Director Result As United Arab Republic (1958–1961) 1958(31st)Cairo Station باب الحديد 1959(32nd)The Nightingale's Prayer دعاء الكروان 1960(33rd)Teenagers المراهقات As Egypt (since 1961) 1961(34th)Love and Faith وا إسلاماه , Andrew Marton 1962(35th)Chased by the Dogs اللص والكلاب 1964(37th)Mother of the Bride أم العروسة 1965(38th)The Impossible المستحيل 1966(39th)Cairo 30 القاهرة 30 1970(43rd)The Night of Counting the Years المومياء 1971(44th)A Woman and a Man امرأة و رجل Houssam Eddine Mostafa 1972(45th)My Wife and the Dog زوجتي و الكلب Said Marzouk 1973(46th)Empire M إمبراطورية ميم 1974(47th)Where Is My Mind? أين عقلي 1975(48th)I Want a Solution أريد حلاً Said Marzouk 1976(49th)Whom Should We Shoot? على من نطلق الرصاص 1979(52nd)Alexandria... Why? إسكندرية... ليه؟ 1981(54th)People on the Top أهل القمة 1990(63rd)Alexandria Again and Forever اسكندرية كمان وكمان 1994(67th) Land of Dreams أرض الاحلام 1997(70th)Destiny المصير 2002(75th) A Girl's Secret أسرار البنات Magdy Ahmed Ali 2003(76th)Sleepless Nights سهر الليالى Hany Khalifa 2004(77th) I Love Cinema بحب السيما Osama Fawzy 2006(79th)The Yacoubian Building عمارة يعقوبيان 2007(80th)In the Heliopolis Flat في شقة مصر الجديدة 2008(81st)The Island الجزيرة 2010(83rd)Messages from the Sea رسائل البحر 2011(84th)Lust الشوق 2013(86th)Winter of Discontent الشتا إللى فات 2014(87th)Factory Girl فتاة المصنع 2016(89th)Clash اشتباك 2017(90th)Sheikh Jackson شيخ جاكسون 2018(91st)Yomeddine يوم الدين 2019(92nd)Poisonous Roses ورد مسموم 2020(93rd)When We're Born لما بنتولد Tamer Ezzat 2021(94th)Souad سعاد 2023(96th)Voy! Voy! Voy! !فوي! فوي! فوي 2024(97th) Flight 404 404 الرحلة Hani Khalifa 2025(98th) Happy Birthday هابي بيرث داي Sarah Goher 2026(99th) The Stories القِصَص Abu Bakr Shawky
Controversies The Egyptian Academy has been known in recent years for choosing topical films that are controversial at home. Coptic Christians launched an unsuccessful court case against 2004 submission I Love Cinema while dozens of Egyptian parliamentarians and a number of Muslim clerics similarly tried to ban The Yacoubian Building for depicting its depictions of Islamic fundamentalism and particularly homosexuality. 2002's Secret of the Young Girl a drama about teenage pregnancy, and 2003's Sleepless Nights, an examination of sex, divorce and relationships inside and outside of marriage also courted controversy among conservatives in Egypt.
In 2022, Egypt's Oscar Selection Committee announced a shortlist of five films: The Crime by Sherif Arafa, Full Moon by Hadi El Bagoury, Kira & El Gin by Marwan Hamed, 2 Talaat Harb by Magdy Ahmed Ali and Villa 19-B by Ahmad Abdalla. Although Ahmed Ali withdrew his film prior to the vote. On 29 September, it was announced that a majority of the selection committee voted not to enter any of the shortlisted films.
See also List of Academy Award winners and nominees for Best International Feature Film List of Academy Award-winning foreign language films
Notes
References
External links The Official Academy Awards Database The Motion Picture Credits Database IMDb Academy Awards Page