List_of_British_submissions_for_the_Academy_Award_for_Best_Foreign_Language_Film

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

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

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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.

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

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

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.

More information Year (Ceremony), Film title ...
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. All six British submissions between 1993 and 2002 were set in Wales.
  3. 2008's Hope Eternal is set in Southern Africa but made by a Welsh director.
  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 Iran.
  9. set in Malawi.
  • 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.[19] 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[20] and BAFTA was asked to reconsider its decision, to no avail.

See also

Notes

  1. [N 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

  1. [1]
    "Academy announces rules for 92nd Oscars". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  2. [2]
    "Academy Announces Rule Changes For 92nd Oscars". Forbes. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  3. [3]
    "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. [4]
    "Afghan Star named UK's foreign language Oscar submission". Archived from the original on 16 December 2009. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  5. [5]
    "Oscars 2024: 'Oppenheimer' triumphs - Full results & viral moments". euronews. 10 March 2024. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  6. [6]
    "THE TIMES: Gaelic film tipped for Oscar". SEACHD. 16 September 2007.
  7. [7]
    Carrell, Severin; correspondent, Scotland (4 October 2007). "Bafta snub for Gaelic and Welsh films" – via The Guardian.
  8. [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. [9]
    Dawtrey, Adam (13 October 2011). "U.K. enters 'Patagonia' for Oscars". Variety.[permanent dead link]
  10. [10]
    "63 Countries Vie for 2011 Foreign Language Film Oscar". Oscars. Archived from the original on 18 May 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  11. [11]
    "Oscars: U.K. Picks 'Metro Manila' as Foreign Language Nomination". Hollywood Reporter. 19 September 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  12. [12]
    "83 Countries In Competition For 2014 Foreign Language Film Oscar". AMPAS. 9 October 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  13. [13]
    "81 Countries In Competition For 2015 Foreign Language Film Oscar". AMPAS. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  14. [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. [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. [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. [17]
    Pedersen, Erik (7 October 2019). "Oscars: 93 Countries In Running For International Feature Film Race". Deadline. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  18. [18]
    "UK submits Chloe Fairweather's Turkish-language 'Dying To Divorce' for best international Oscar". ScreenDaily. 11 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  19. [19]
    "UK Hindi film causes Oscar trouble". BBC News. 29 November 2002. Archived from the original on 17 February 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
  20. [20]
    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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