List of submissions to the 96th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film

This is a list of submissions to the 96th Academy Awards for the Best International Feature Film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has invited the film industries of various countries to submit their best film for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film every year since the award was created in 1956. The award is presented annually by the Academy to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue. The International Feature Film Award Committee oversees the process and reviews all the submitted films. The category was previously called the Best Foreign Language Film, but this was changed in April 2019 to Best International Feature Film, after the Academy deemed the word "Foreign" to be outdated.

For the 96th Academy Awards, the submitted motion pictures must have first been released theatrically in their respective countries between 1 December 2022 and 31 October 2023. The deadline for submissions to the Academy was 2 October 2023. 92 countries submitted films, and 88 were found to be eligible by AMPAS and screened for voters. Namibia submitted a film for the first time, while Burkina Faso made a submission for the first time since 1989. After the 15-film shortlist was announced on 21 December 2023, the five nominees were announced on 23 January 2024.

United Kingdom won the award for the first time with The Zone of Interest by Jonathan Glazer, which also won Best Sound, and was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Submissions Submitting country Film title used in nomination Original title Language(s) Director(s) ResultAlexanderAleksanderAlbanian, English Ardit Sadiku The DelinquentsLos delincuentes Spanish Rodrigo MorenoAmerikatsiԱմերիկացիArmenian, English, Russian Michael A. GoorjianShayda پاییز شیداPersian, English Noora NiasariVeraItalian Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel No Ground Beneath the Feetপায়ের তলায় মাটি নাইBengali Mohammad Rabby Mridha OmenAugureFrench, Swahili, LingalaBalojiThe Monk and the GunDzongkha, English Pawo Choyning Dorji The Visitor El visitante Spanish Excursion EkskurzijaBosnian Pictures of GhostsRetratos FantasmasBrazilian PortugueseKleber Mendonça Filho Blaga's Lessons Уроците на БлагаBulgarian Stephan KomandarevSira French, Western Niger Fulfulde, Mooré Apolline Traoré Cameroonian Pidgin EnglishEnah Johnscott Canada RojekNorthern Kurdish, English, Arabic, French, German Zaynê Akyol ChileThe SettlersLos colonosSpanish, EnglishFelipe Gálvez Haberle ChinaThe Wandering Earth II流浪地球2Mandarin, English, Russian, French, ThaiFrant Gwo ColombiaA MaleUn varónSpanish Costa RicaI Have Electric DreamsTengo sueños eléctricosSpanish, EnglishValentina Maurel CroatiaTragoviCroatianEl mundo de NelsitoSpanishFernando PérezBrothersBratřiCzech, GermanThe Promised LandBastardenDanish, German, Swedish, NorwegianNikolaj ArcelCuarencenaSpanishDavid Maler !فوي! فوي! فويArabicOmar Hilal EstoniaSmoke Sauna SisterhoodSavvusanna sõsaradEstonian, Seto, Võro FinlandFallen LeavesKuolleet lehdetFinnish, ArabicAki KaurismäkiThe Taste of ThingsLa passion de Dodin BouffantFrenchTrần Anh Hùngმოქალაქე წმინდანიGeorgian GermanyThe Teachers' LoungeDas LehrerzimmerGerman, English, Polish, Turkishİlker ÇatakBehind the HaystacksΠίσω από τις θημωνιέςGreek, Arabic, MacedonianA Light Never Goes Out燈火闌珊CantoneseAnastasia TsangFour Souls of CoyoteKojot négy lelkeHungarianGodlandVolaða land / Vanskabte landDanish, IcelandicHlynur Pálmason2018 – Everyone Is a Hero 2018: എവരിവൺ ഇസ് എ ഹീറോMalayalamJude Anthany JosephAutobiographyIndonesianMakbul MubarakThe Night Guardianنگهبان شب PersianReza MirkarimiHanging Gardensجنائن معلقة Arabicفي ضلال بيروتStephen Gerard Kelly and Garry KeaneSeven Blessingsשבע ברכותHebrew, Arabic, French, Judeo-Moroccan ArabicAyelet MenahemiIo capitanoWolof, French, Arabic, English, ItalianMatteo GarronePerfect DaysJapaneseWim WendersInshallah a Boy إن شاء الله ولدArabicSwahili, EnglishDaudi AngukaЭсимде Kyrgyz, ArabicAktan Arym KubatMana brīvībaLatvianSlowTu man nieko neprimeniLithuanian, Lithuanian Sign Language, English Marija KavtaradzėThe Last AshesLäif a SéilLuxembourgish, OjibweTiger StripesMalayAmanda Nell EuTótemSpanishLila AvilésTuneteRomanian Ioane BobeicaCity of WindСэр сэр салхиMongolian Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir MontenegroMontenegrin, English The Mother of All Lies كذب أبيضArabicAsmae El MoudirUnder the Hanging Tree Afrikaans, German, Herero, Khoekhoe, EnglishPerivi KatjaviviHalkara हलकाराNepali Bikram SapkotaSweet DreamsDutch, Indonesian Ena SendijarevićMami WataNigerian Pidgin, Fon C.J. ObasiHousekeeping for Beginners Домаќинство за почетници Macedonian, Balkan Romani, Albanian, French Goran StolevskiSongs of Earth Fedrelandet Norwegian Margreth OlinIn Flames ان فلیمز Urdu Zarrar KahnBye Bye Tiberias باي باي طبرياFrench, ArabicLina SoualemTito, Margot & Me Tito, Margot y YoSpanish, English Mercedes Arias and Delfina VidalThe Last Runway 2, Commando YaguareteLeal 2, Comando Yaguareté Spanish, Guarani Armando Aquino and Mauricio RialThe Erection of Toribio BardelliLa erección de Toribio Bardelli SpanishAdrián SabaThe MissingIti MapukpukawIlocano, FilipinoCarl Joseph PapaThe PeasantsChłopiPolishDK and Hugh WelchmanBad LivingMal ViverPortugueseJoão CanijoDo Not Expect Too Much from the End of the WorldNu aștepta prea mult de la sfârșitul lumiiRomanian, English, German, Hungarian, Italian Radu Jude الھامور ح.عArabicAbdulelah AlqurashiBanel & Adama Banel et Adama Pulaar, FrenchRamata-Toulaye Sy Што се боре мисли мојеSerbian Milorad MilinkovićThe Breaking Ice燃冬Mandarin, KoreanAnthony ChenPhotophobiaSvetloplachosť / ФотофобіяUkrainian, Russian and SloveniaJezdecaSlovene, Croatian Zulu, EnglishMpumi Mbele South KoreaConcrete Utopia콘크리트 유토피아KoreanUm Tae-hwa SpainSociety of the SnowLa sociedad de la nieveSpanishJ.A. BayonaGoodbye Juliaوداعا جولياArabicMohamed Kordofani Opponent Motståndaren Swedish, PersianMilad Alami Thunder Foudre French Marry My Dead Body 關於我和鬼變成家人的那件事 Mandarin, Taiwanese Hokkien Cheng Wei-hao Melody ملودی / Мелодия Persian Behrouz Sebt RasoulNot Friendsเพื่อน(ไม่)สนิทThai Atta Hemwadee Four Daughters بنات ألفة Arabic, French Kaouther Ben HaniaAbout Dry GrassesKuru Otlar Üstüne Turkish Nuri Bilge Ceylan20 Days in Mariupol 20 днів у МаріуполіUkrainian, Russian, EnglishMstyslav Chernov The Zone of Interest German, Polish, YiddishJonathan Glazer Family Album Temas propios Spanish, EnglishGuillermo Rocamora The Shadow of the Sun La sombra del sol Spanish, Venezuelan Sign LanguageMiguel Ángel Ferrer Glorious Ashes Vietnamese The BurdenedالمرهقونArabicAmr Gamal

Notes Cuba's submission was reported to be by Fernando Pérez. In October 2023, the film was included in one of the Oscar selection committee's official group assignments alongside the 88 other films, but was reportedly found "ineligible" and the film did not appear on the Academy's final official list in December 2023. Hong Kong submitted A Light Never Goes Out by Anastasia Tsang, but it was disqualified by the Academy. One member of Hong Kong's 13-person selection committee was an actor in the film, which the Academy deemed a conflict of interest. Hong Kong declined an invitation to submit a second film. Iran's government-controlled Farabi Cinema Foundation submitted The Night Guardian by Reza Mirkarimi. The selection was criticized by the dissident Iranian Independent Filmmaker Association (IIFMA), who asked the Academy to consider an alternative film. They released a press statement saying: "Over the past year, Iranian filmmakers have been imprisoned, interrogated and intimidated with Farabi being a key player in implementing this severe repression." IIFMA contended that The Night Guardian was not reflective of the year's work by Iranian filmmakers, who were largely working independently of the Iranian government or in exile. Kazakhstan's Oscar selection committee announced they received four submissions and considered two of them: Ademoka's Education by and by Askhat Kuchinchirekov. Ademoka's Education received two votes and Bauryna Salu received one vote, while four committee members abstained. The committee decided not to submit either film but Bauryna Salu was submitted the following year. Kosovo's Cinematography Center announced on 27 September 2023 that their selection committee unanimously decided not to submit a film despite receiving four submissions: Actors of Cannes by Mentor Spahiu, The Albanian Virgin by , by , and by Fisnik Maxville. In a statement, Maxville said that the decision not to send any film "hurts our young country's blooming film industry. It is quite hard to understand how Kosovo has invested in the different films... and then refuses to further that investment by sending a film — any film — to showcase Kosovo's vibrant new cinema scene to the Oscars." This leaves the country absent for the first time since they began submitting films in 2014. Kyrgyzstan submitted by Aktan Arym Kubat, but it was not included in the final list because it was released in Kyrgyzstan on 18 November 2022, two weeks prior to the eligibility window. Kyrgyzstan declined an invitation to submit a second film, contending that the window had yet not been known when the release was scheduled so it was impossible to plan ahead for the qualification. Russia's state media reported that the national Oscar selection committee had suspended its operations and would not submit a film. A former committee member said that submitting a film would "look extremely inappropriate" in light of international sanctions on Russia due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia cited similar reasons for not submitting a film in 2022. Tajikistan's submission was reported to be Melody by Behrouz Sebt Rasoul. though it did not appear on the final list. It was not included on the assignment lists sent to Academy members who volunteered to participate in first-round voting, reportedly because the country did not have its selection committee approved by AMPAS in advance. It was allowed to be submitted the following year by a new committee approved by AMPAS. The Oscar selection committees for Cambodia, Malawi, Malta, Uganda and Zambia invited filmmakers to make submissions, but did not end up sending films.

References

External links Official website of the Academy Awards