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List of British submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film

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Jonathan Glazer directed United Kingdom's first film to win the award, The Zone of Interest (2023).

The United Kingdom has submitted films for consideration for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film[nb 1] irregularly since 1991. The award is handed out annually by the United States Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue.[3] The UK has one of the world's most visible film industries and British films, as well as British actors, actresses and behind-the-scenes crew members have been prominently featured amongst Oscar nominees since the 1930s. Most British features are not eligible for the Best International Feature Film award, because they are produced in English.

The British nominee is selected by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).[4]

As of 2024, the United Kingdom has submitted twenty films for Oscar consideration, with three of them getting Oscar nominations, The Zone of Interest became the first British co-production film to earn a nomination for Best International Feature Film and Best Picture simultaneously, winning the former as the first film to win in that category.[5]

Half of these films were made by directors from or based in Wales, and were partially or completely filmed in the Welsh language.

Other films have been in languages spoken in the UK's ethnic minority communities. As yet, there have been no submissions in Scots, Angloromani, Cornish or Scottish Gaelic, and one film (Branwen) that was partially in Irish. The 2007 film Seachd: The Inaccessible Pinnacle (Scottish Gaelic) was promoted by campaigners but was not submitted to the Academy.[6][7]

Submissions

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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.[8] 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.[3] Below is a list of the films that have been submitted by the United Kingdom for review by the Academy for the award by year and the respective Academy Awards ceremony.

Year
(Ceremony)		 Film title Main Language(s) Director Result
1991
(64th) 		Lost in Siberia[a] Russian, English Alexander Mitta Not nominated
1993
(66th) 		Hedd Wyn[b] Welsh Paul Turner Nominated
1995
(68th) 		Branwen[b] Welsh, Irish, English Ceri Sherlock Not nominated
1998
(71st) 		Cameleon[b] Welsh Ceri Sherlock Not nominated
1999
(72nd) 		Solomon & Gaenor[b] Welsh, English Paul Morrison Nominated
2001
(74th) 		Do Not Go Gentle[b] Emlyn Williams Not nominated
2002
(75th) 		Eldra[b] Tim Lyn Not nominated
2008
(81st) 		Hope Eternal[c] Bemba, English, Welsh, French, Afrikaans, Swahili Karl Francis Not nominated
2009
(82nd) 		Afghan Star[d] Dari, Pashto, English Havana Marking Not nominated
2011
(84th) 		Patagonia[e][9][10] Welsh, Spanish Marc Evans Not nominated
2013
(86th) 		Metro Manila[f][11] Filipino Sean Ellis Not nominated
2014
(87th) 		Little Happiness[g][12] Turkish Nihat Seven Not nominated
2015
(88th) 		Under Milk Wood[h][13] Welsh Kevin Allen Not nominated
2016
(89th) 		Under the Shadow[i][14] Persian Babak Anvari Not nominated
2017
(90th) 		My Pure Land[j][15] Urdu Sarmad Masud Not nominated
2018
(91st) 		I Am Not a Witch[k][16] English, Bemba Rungano Nyoni Not nominated
2019
(92nd) 		The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind[l][17] English, Chichewa Chiwetel Ejiofor Not nominated
2021
(94th) 		Dying to Divorce[m][18] Turkish, English Chloe Fairweather Not nominated
2022
(95th) 		Winners[n] Persian Hassan Nazer Not nominated
2023
(96th) 		The Zone of Interest[o] German, Polish, Yiddish Jonathan Glazer Won Academy Award
2024
(97th) 		Santosh[p][19] Hindi Sandhya Suri Pending
Notes
  1. ^ Britain's initial Oscar submission, Lost in Siberia, was set in Russia, and focused on a British archaeologist imprisoned in a Soviet gulag.
  2. ^ a b c d e f All six British submissions between 1993 and 2002 were set in Wales.
  3. ^ set in Southern Africa
  4. ^ In 2009, the UK submitted a documentary, and a film directed by a woman, for the first time with Afghan Star, about an American Idol-type talent competition in post-Taliban Afghanistan.
  5. ^ set in Argentina and Wales.
  6. ^ set in the Philippines.
  7. ^ set in Turkey.
  8. ^ set in Wales.
  9. ^ set in Iran.
  10. ^ set in Pakistan.
  11. ^ set in Zambia.
  12. ^ set in Malawi.
  13. ^ set in Turkey.
  14. ^ set in Iran.
  15. ^ set in Occupied Poland.
  16. ^ set in India.
  • In 2002, BAFTA originally selected the Hindi language The Warrior as its Oscar submission but the film was controversially disqualified by AMPAS because the film did not take place in, nor was it filmed in a language indigenous to, the United Kingdom.[20] The rule was changed in 2005, and the first film to benefit was a Hindi-language film from Canada.
  • In 2007, BAFTA invited British filmmakers to submit films for consideration to represent the UK in the category. Two films responded to the call: Calon Gaeth, in Welsh and Seachd: The Inaccessible Pinnacle, one of the first films made in Scots Gaelic. For unknown reasons, BAFTA declined to submit either film. The ensuing controversy led to widespread coverage in the international press and producer Christopher Young resigning his membership of BAFTA. The matter was also raised in the Scottish Parliament[21] and BAFTA was asked to reconsider its decision, to no avail.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The category was previously named the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but this was changed to the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film in April 2019, after the Academy deemed the word "Foreign" to be outdated.[1][2]

References

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  1. ^ "Academy announces rules for 92nd Oscars". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  2. ^ "Academy Announces Rule Changes For 92nd Oscars". Forbes. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Rule Thirteen: Special Rules for the Foreign Language Film Award". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 22 August 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  4. ^ "Afghan Star named UK's foreign language Oscar submission". Archived from the original on 16 December 2009. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  5. ^ "Oscars 2024: 'Oppenheimer' triumphs - Full results & viral moments". euronews. 10 March 2024. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  6. ^ "THE TIMES: Gaelic film tipped for Oscar". SEACHD. 16 September 2007.
  7. ^ Carrell, Severin; correspondent, Scotland (4 October 2007). "Bafta snub for Gaelic and Welsh films". The Guardian. {{cite news}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  8. ^ "History of the Academy Awards — Page 2". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 22 June 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2008.
  9. ^ Dawtrey, Adam (13 October 2011). "U.K. enters 'Patagonia' for Oscars". Variety.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ "63 Countries Vie for 2011 Foreign Language Film Oscar". Oscars. Archived from the original on 18 May 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  11. ^ "Oscars: U.K. Picks 'Metro Manila' as Foreign Language Nomination". Hollywood Reporter. 19 September 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  12. ^ "83 Countries In Competition For 2014 Foreign Language Film Oscar". AMPAS. 9 October 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  13. ^ "81 Countries In Competition For 2015 Foreign Language Film Oscar". AMPAS. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  14. ^ McNary, Dave (21 September 2016). "Iranian Horror Movie 'Under the Shadow' Selected as U.K. Foreign-Language Oscar Entry". Variety. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  15. ^ Roxborough, Scott (14 September 2017). "Oscars: U.K. Selects 'My Pure Land' for Foreign-Language Category". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  16. ^ Mitchell, Robert (22 August 2018). "Oscars: U.K. Selects BAFTA Winner 'I Am Not a Witch' as Foreign-Language Entry". Variety. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  17. ^ Pedersen, Erik (7 October 2019). "Oscars: 93 Countries In Running For International Feature Film Race". Deadline. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  18. ^ "UK submits Chloe Fairweather's Turkish-language 'Dying To Divorce' for best international Oscar". ScreenDaily. 11 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  19. ^ Ritman, Alex (25 September 2024). "'Santosh' to Represent U.K. in Oscars International Feature Race". Variety. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  20. ^ "UK Hindi film causes Oscar trouble". BBC News. 29 November 2002. Archived from the original on 17 February 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
  21. ^ Dawtrey, Adam (4 October 2007). "BAFTA attacked over Oscars". Variety. Archived from the original on 31 October 2007. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
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