Greece has submitted films for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.[nb 1] 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] It was created for the 1956 Academy Awards, in which a competitive Academy Award of Merit, known as the Best Foreign Language Film Award, was created for non-English speaking films, and has been given annually since.
For the 78th Academy Awards, Greece selected Nyfes but it was ruled ineligible for being in English.
In the 1990s, Greek film law stipulated that the winner of the Greek Film Competition at the Thessaloniki Film Festival would represent Greece at the Oscars the following year. After Greek films that were mostly in English (and thus ineligible for the Foreign Language Film award) won the award in 2005 and 2007, Greece decided to revise the selection process. Beginning in 2008, the Greek submission is determined by an ad hoc committee appointed under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Culture. The first film to be selected under the new rules was Correction, since El Greco contained too much English to qualify.[4]
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. 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 Greece for review by the Academy for the award by the year of the submission and the respective Academy Award ceremony.
| Year (Ceremony) | Film title used in nomination | Original title | Director | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 (30th) | The Lagoon of Desire | Η λίμνη των πόθων | Giorgos Zervos | Not nominated |
| 1962 (35th) | Electra | Ηλέκτρα | Michael Cacoyannis | Nominated[5] |
| 1963 (36th) | The Red Lanterns | Τα κόκκινα φανάρια | Vasilis Georgiadis | Nominated[6] |
| 1964 (37th) | Treason | Προδοσία | Kostas Manoussakis | Not nominated |
| 1965 (38th) | Blood on the Land | Το χώμα βάφτηκε κόκκινο | Vasilis Georgiadis | Nominated[7] |
| 1966 (39th) | Queen of Clubs | Ντάμα σπαθί | George Skalenakis | Not nominated |
| 1968 (41st) | Imperiale | Βυζαντινή Ραψωδία | Not nominated | |
| 1969 (42nd) | Girls in the Sun | Κορίτσια στον Ήλιο | Vasilis Georgiadis | Not nominated |
| 1975 (48th) | The Travelling Players | Ο Θίασος | Theo Angelopoulos | Not nominated |
| 1977 (50th) | Iphigenia | Iφιγένεια | Michael Cacoyannis | Nominated[8] |
| 1981 (54th) | The Man with the Carnation | Ο άνθρωπος με το γαρίφαλο | Nikos Tzimas | Not nominated |
| 1982 (55th) | Angel | Άγγελος | Giorgos Katakouzinos | Not nominated |
| 1987 (60th) | Theofilos | Θεόφιλος | Lakis Papastathis | Not nominated |
| 1988 (61st) | In the Shadow of Fear | Στη σκιά του τρόμου | Yiorgos Karypidis | Not nominated |
| 1989 (62nd) | Landscape in the Mist | Τοπίο στην ομίχλη | Theo Angelopoulos | Not nominated |
| 1990 (63rd) | Love Under the Date-Tree | Έρωτας στη χουρμαδιά | Stavros Tsiolis | Not nominated |
| 1995 (68th) | Ulysses' Gaze | Το Βλέμμα του Οδυσσέα | Theo Angelopoulos | Not nominated |
| 1997 (70th) | Slaughter of the Cock | Η Σφαγή του Κόκορα | Andreas Pantzis | Not nominated |
| 1998 (71st) | Eternity and a Day | Μια αιωνιότητα και μια μέρα | Theo Angelopoulos | Not nominated |
| 1999 (72nd) | From the Edge of the City | Από την άκρη της πόλης | Constantinos Giannaris | Not nominated |
| 2000 (73rd) | Peppermint | Costas Kapakas | Not nominated | |
| 2001 (74th) | In Good Company | Ένας κι ένας | Nikos Zapatinas | Not nominated |
| 2002 (75th) | The Only Journey of His Life | Το μόνον της ζωής του ταξείδιον | Lakis Papastathis | Not nominated |
| 2003 (76th) | Think It Over | Θα το Μετανιώσεις | Katerina Evangelakou | Not nominated |
| 2004 (77th) | A Touch of Spice | Πολίτικη Κουζίνα | Tassos Boulmetis | Not nominated |
| 2006 (79th) | Chariton's Choir | Η χωρωδία του Χαρίτωνα | Grigoris Karantinakis | Not nominated |
| 2007 (80th) | Eduart | Angeliki Antoniou | Not nominated | |
| 2008 (81st) | Correction | Διόρθωση | Thanos Anastopoulos | Not nominated |
| 2009 (82nd) | Slaves in Their Bonds | Οι Σκλάβοι στα Δεσμά τους | Adonis Lykouresis | Not nominated |
| 2010 (83rd) | Dogtooth | Κυνόδοντας | Yorgos Lanthimos | Nominated[9] |
| 2011 (84th) | Attenberg[10] | Athina Rachel Tsangari | Not nominated | |
| 2012 (85th) | Unfair World[11] | Άδικος Κόσμος | Filippos Tsitos | Not nominated |
| 2013 (86th) | Boy Eating the Bird's Food[12] | Το Αγόρι Τρώει το Φαγητό του Πουλιού | Ektoras Lygizos | Not nominated |
| 2014 (87th) | Little England[13] | Μικρά Αγγλία | Pantelis Voulgaris | Not nominated |
| 2015 (88th) | Xenia[14] | Ξενία | Panos H. Koutras | Not nominated |
| 2016 (89th) | Chevalier[15] | Athina Rachel Tsangari | Not nominated | |
| 2017 (90th) | Amerika Square[16] | Amerika Square | Yannis Sakaridis | Not nominated |
| 2018 (91st) | Polyxeni[17] | Πολυξένη | Dora Masklavanou | Not nominated |
| 2019 (92nd) | When Tomatoes Met Wagner[18] | Όταν ο Βάγκνερ Συνάντησε τις Ντομάτες | Marianna Economou | Not nominated |
| 2020 (93rd) | Apples[19] | Μήλα | Christos Nikou | Not nominated |
| 2021 (94th) | Digger[20] | Georgis Grigorakis | Not nominated | |
| 2022 (95th) | Magnetic Fields[21] | Μαγνητικά Πεδία | Yorgos Gousis | Not nominated |
| 2023 (96th) | Behind the Haystacks[22] | Πίσω από τις θημωνιές | Asimina Proedrou | Not nominated |