List of submissions to the 55th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film

This is a list of submissions to the 55th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film was created in 1956 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to honour non-English-speaking films produced outside the United States.[1] The award is handed out annually, and is accepted by the winning film's director, although it is considered an award for the submitting country as a whole.[2] Countries are invited by the Academy to submit their best films for competition according to strict rules, with only one film being accepted from each country.[2]

For the 55th Academy Awards, twenty-five films were submitted in the category Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Nicaragua submitted a film for the first time. The bolded titles were the five nominated films, which came from France, Nicaragua, Sweden, the USSR and the eventual winner, Begin the Beguine, from Spain.[3]

Submissions

Submitting countryFilm title used in nominationOriginal titleLanguage(s)Director(s)Result
 AlgeriaSandstormVent de sable / رياح رمليةFrench, ArabicMohammed Lakhdar-HaminaNot nominated
 ArgentinaLast Days of the VictimÚltimos días de la víctimaSpanishAdolfo AristarainNot nominated
 BelgiumMinuetMenuetDutchLili RademakersNot nominated
 BulgariaKhan AsparoukhХан АспарухBulgarianLudmil StaikovNot nominated
 CanadaWild FlowersLes fleurs sauvagesFrenchJean Pierre LefebvreNot nominated
 CzechoslovakiaThe AssistantPomocnikSlovakZoro ZahonNot nominated
 DenmarkTree of KnowledgeKundskabens træDanishNils MalmrosNot nominated
 FranceClean SlateCoup de TorchonFrenchBertrand TavernierNominated
 West GermanyFitzcarraldoGerman, Spanish, Asháninka, EnglishWerner HerzogNot nominated
 GreeceAngelΆγγελοςGreekGiorgos KatakouzinosNot nominated
 HungaryTime Stands StillMegáll az idöHungarianPéter GothárNot nominated
 IcelandInter NosOkkar á milli: Í hita og þunga dagsinsIcelandicHrafn GunnlaugssonNot nominated
 IsraelHamsinחמסיןHebrew, ArabicDaniel WachsmannNot nominated
 ItalyThe Night of the Shooting StarsLa Notte di San LorenzoItalianPaolo Taviani and Vittorio TavianiNot nominated
 JapanOnimasa鬼龍院花子の生涯JapaneseHideo GoshaNot nominated
 NetherlandsThe Cool Lakes of DeathVan de koele meren des doodsDutch, FrenchNouchka van BrakelNot nominated
 NicaraguaAlsino and the CondorAlsino y el cóndorSpanish, EnglishMiguel LittínNominated
 NorwayVictoria LLeve sitt livNorwegianPetter Vennerød and Svend WamNot nominated
 PortugalFranciscaPortugueseManoel de OliveiraNot nominated
 Soviet UnionPrivate LifeЧастная жизньRussianYuli RaizmanNominated
 SpainBegin the BeguineVolver a empezarSpanishJosé Luis GarciWon Academy Award
 SwedenThe Flight of the EagleIngenjör Andrées luftfärdSwedish, FrenchJan TroellNominated
 SwitzerlandYolTurkish, KurdishŞerif Gören and Yılmaz GüneyNot nominated
 TaiwanThe Battle for the Republic of China辛亥双十MandarinDing Shan XiNot nominated
 YugoslaviaThe Smell of QuincesMiris dunjaSerbo-CroatianMirza IdrizovićNot nominated

Notes

  • Switzerland was allowed to submit their Palm d'Or-winning entry Yol,[4] a film in Turkish by a pair of Turkish directors. The film had been banned for political content at home, and was smuggled into Switzerland and edited in Paris.[5]

References