Denys Arcand , director of The Barbarian Invasions (2003), the first Canadian film to receive the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film .Canada has submitted films for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film [nb 1] since 1971. 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 not created until 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.[4]
The process of choosing the submission is administered by Telefilm Canada .
As of 2021[update] , seven Canadian films have been nominated, including one winner, for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Of these films, three have been directed by Denys Arcand : Jesus of Montreal , nominated at the 62nd Academy Awards ; The Decline of the American Empire , nominated at the 59th Academy Awards ; and its sequel , The Barbarian Invasions , which was the winner at the 76th Academy Awards .[5] Arcand's Days of Darkness was shortlisted for the Oscar, but was not nominated. The other four Canadian directors to have their films nominated are Deepa Mehta for Water at the 79th Academy Awards ,[6] Denis Villeneuve for Incendies at the 83rd Academy Awards ,[7] Philippe Falardeau for Monsieur Lazhar at the 84th Academy Awards ,[8] and Kim Nguyen for War Witch at the 85th Academy Awards .[9]
Of the 47 films selected to date as Canada's submission to the Academy Awards, 18 of them have also won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Motion Picture .
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.[4] 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 Canada for review by the academy for the award by year and the respective Academy Awards ceremony. With two exceptions (2001's Inuktitut Atanarjuat and 2005's Hindi Water ), all submissions were Québécois films. All of these were in French , except for A Bullet in the Head which was spoken entirely in an invented language .[10] Other French-language submissions have featured a substantial amount of Inuktitut (The Necessities of Life ), Lingala (War Witch ), Yiddish (Felix and Meira ),[11] and Mohawk and Algonquin (Hochelaga, Land of Souls ).[12]
For the 93rd Academy Awards , Canada's original submission was Deepa Mehta 's Funny Boy , but the film was disqualified in December 2020 for containing too much dialogue in English.[13]
Year(Ceremony)
Film title used in nomination
Original title
Language(s)
Director
Result
1971 (44th)
Mon oncle Antoine
French
Claude Jutra
Not nominated
1972 (45th)
The True Nature of Bernadette
La Vraie Nature de Bernadette
Gilles Carle
Not nominated
1975 (48th)
Orders
Les Ordres
Michel Brault
Not nominated
1977 (50th)
J.A. Martin Photographer
J.A. Martin photographe
Jean Beaudin
Not nominated
1979 (52nd)
A Scream from Silence
Mourir à tue-tête
Anne Claire Poirier
Not nominated
1980 (53rd)
Good Riddance
Les Bons débarras
Francis Mankiewicz
Not nominated
1981 (54th)
The Plouffe Family
Les Plouffe
French, English
Gilles Carle
Not nominated
1982 (55th)
Wild Flowers
Les fleurs sauvages
French
Jean Pierre Lefebvre
Not nominated
1983 (56th)
The Tin Flute
Bonheur d'occasion
Claude Fournier
Not nominated
1984 (57th)
Sonatine
Micheline Lanctôt
Not nominated
1985 (58th)
Jacques and November
Jacques et novembre
François Bouvier and Jean Beaudry
Not nominated
1986 (59th)
The Decline of the American Empire
Le Déclin de l'empire américain
French, English
Denys Arcand
Nominated[14]
1987 (60th)
Night Zoo
Un zoo la nuit
French
Jean-Claude Lauzon
Not nominated
1988 (61st)
The Revolving Doors
Les portes tournantes
Francis Mankiewicz
Not nominated
1989 (62nd)
Jesus of Montreal
Jésus de Montréal
French, English
Denys Arcand
Nominated[15]
1990 (63rd)
An Imaginary Tale [16]
Une histoire inventée
French
André Forcier
Not nominated
1991 (64th)
A Bullet in the Head [17]
Fictional language
Attila Bertalan
Not nominated
1992 (65th)
Léolo [18]
French
Jean-Claude Lauzon
Not nominated
1993 (66th)
The Sex of the Stars [19]
Le sexe des étoiles
Paule Baillargeon
Not nominated
1994 (67th)
My Friend Max
Mon Amie Max
Michel Brault
Not nominated
1995 (68th)
The Confessional [20]
Le Confessional
Robert Lepage
Not nominated
1996 (69th)
Not Me! [21]
Sous-Sol
Pierre Gang
Not nominated
1997 (70th)
Cosmos [22]
Jennifer Alleyn , Manon Briand ,Marie-Julie Dallaire , Arto Paragamian ,André Turpin , Denis Villeneuve
Not nominated
1998 (71st)
August 32nd on Earth [23]
Un 32 Août sur Terre
French, English
Denis Villeneuve
Not nominated
1999 (72nd)
Set Me Free [24]
Emporte-moi
French
Léa Pool
Not nominated
2000 (73rd)
Maelström [25]
Denis Villeneuve
Not nominated
2001 (74th)
Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner [11]
Atanarjuat
Inuktitut
Zacharias Kunuk
Not nominated
2002 (75th)
Un crabe dans la tête [26]
Un crabe dans la tête
French
André Turpin
Not nominated
2003 (76th)
The Barbarian Invasions
Les Invasions barbares
French, English
Denys Arcand
Won Academy Award[27]
2004 (77th)
Far Side of the Moon [28]
La face cachée de la lune
French
Robert Lepage
Not nominated
2005 (78th)
C.R.A.Z.Y. [29]
Jean-Marc Vallée
Not nominated
2006 (79th)
Water
Hindi , English
Deepa Mehta
Nominated[6]
2007 (80th)
Days of Darkness
L'Âge des ténèbres
French
Denys Arcand
Made shortlist[30]
2008 (81st)
The Necessities of Life
Ce qu'il faut pour vivre, Inuujjutiksaq
French, Inuktitut
Benoît Pilon
Made shortlist[31]
2009 (82nd)
I Killed My Mother [32]
J'ai tué ma mère
French
Xavier Dolan
Not nominated
2010 (83rd)
Incendies [33]
French, Arabic
Denis Villeneuve
Nominated[7]
2011 (84th)
Monsieur Lazhar [34]
Philippe Falardeau
Nominated[35]
2012 (85th)
War Witch [36]
Rebelle
French, Lingala
Kim Nguyen
Nominated[37]
2013 (86th)
Gabrielle [38]
French
Louise Archambault
Not nominated
2014 (87th)
Mommy [39]
Xavier Dolan
Not nominated
2015 (88th)
Felix and Meira [40]
Félix et Meira
French, Yiddish , English
Maxime Giroux
Not nominated
2016 (89th)
It's Only the End of the World [41]
Juste la fin du monde
French
Xavier Dolan
Made shortlist[42]
2017 (90th)
Hochelaga, Land of Souls [43]
Hochelaga terre des âmes
French, English, Mohawk , Algonquin
François Girard
Not nominated
2018 (91st)
Family First [44]
Chien de garde
French
Sophie Dupuis
Not nominated
2019 (92nd)
Antigone [45]
French, English, Arabic
Sophie Deraspe
Not nominated
2020 (93rd)
14 Days, 12 Nights [46]
14 jours, 12 nuits
French
Jean-Philippe Duval
Not nominated
2021 (94th)
Drunken Birds [47]
Les Oiseaux ivres
French, Spanish
Ivan Grbovic
Not nominated
2022 (95th)
Eternal Spring [48]
長春
Mandarin , English
Jason Loftus
Not nominated
2023 (96th)
Rojek [49]
Kurdish , English, Arabic, French, German
Zaynê Akyol
Not nominated
^ 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]
^ "Academy announces rules for 92nd Oscars" . Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . Retrieved 12 July 2019 .
^ "Academy Announces Rule Changes For 92nd Oscars" . Forbes . Retrieved 12 July 2019 .
^ 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 .
^ a b "History of the Academy Awards – Page 2" . Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . Archived from the original on 19 October 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2009 .
^ "Denys Arcand – Awards" . Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . 2012. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2009 .
^ a b "Deepa Mehta – Awards" . Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . 2012. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2009 .
^ a b "Nominees for the 83rd Academy Awards" . oscars.org . Retrieved 25 January 2011 .
^ Holden, Stephen (12 April 2012). "When the Best Teacher Doesn't Have a Degree" . The New York Times . Archived from the original on 1 November 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2013 .
^ "Canadian director Kim Nguyen on his Oscar nomination for War Witch (Rebelle): 'We're clearly the underdog' " . National Post . Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2013 .
^ "A Bullet in the Head" . Éléphant: mémoire du cinéma québécois . Quebecor . Retrieved 15 April 2017 .
^ a b Wong, Jessica (23 September 2016). "Xavier Dolan's It's Only the End of the World to be Canada's Oscar foreign-language film submission" . CBC News . Retrieved 3 January 2017 .
^ Dunlevy, T'cha (25 September 2017). "Hochelaga, terre des âmes is Canada's foreign-language Oscar contender" . Montreal Gazette . Retrieved 27 September 2017 .
^ Ramachandran, Naman (18 December 2020). "Canada's Oscar Entry 'Funny Boy' Pulled From International Feature Film Race" . Variety . Retrieved 18 December 2020 .
^ "The 59th Academy Awards (1987) Nominees and Winners" . oscars.org . Retrieved 16 August 2015 .
^ "The 62nd Academy Awards (1990) Nominees and Winners" . oscars.org . Retrieved 6 September 2015 .
^ Staff (13 January 1991). "37 Foreign Pix Submitted For Oscars, The Most Ever" . Variety . Retrieved 25 July 2021 .
^ Staff (17 May 1999). "Between the Moon & Montevideo films on location in Old Havana" . Playback . Retrieved 15 April 2017 .
^ Marx, Andy (2 December 1992). "Foreign Oscar entries submitted" . Variety . Retrieved 25 July 2021 .
^ "Pallister tribute to precede reading by author" . BGSC News . Bowling Green State University . 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2021 .
^ Conner, Shawn (9 February 2016). "Playwright Robert Lepage investigates his own past, and an 'obsession' with memory" . Vancouver Sun . Retrieved 25 July 2021 .
^ Hindes, Andrew (15 November 1996). "Oscars' Foreign Film Contenders" . The Washington Post . Retrieved 25 July 2021 .
^ "News Brief: Cosmos up for Oscar" . Playback . 17 November 1997. Retrieved 25 July 2021 .
^ "Arrival director Denis Villeneuve goes from MuchMusic to the Oscars in just 20 short years" . Toronto Star . 18 February 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2018 .
^ "Emporte to Oscars?" . Playback . 15 November 1999. Retrieved 18 September 2018 .
^ "Record 46 Countries in Race for Oscar" . Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . 20 November 2000. Archived from the original on 5 April 2008. Retrieved 18 July 2008 .
^ "Crabe Dans La Tete joins Oscar race for Canada" . Screen Daily . 3 November 2002. Retrieved 18 September 2018 .
^ Associated Press (3 January 2004). " 'Invasions' takes foreign-language Oscar" . Today . Retrieved 27 August 2016 .
^ "Telefilm Canada invites producers to submit their feature films to the pan-Canadian Oscar selection committee" . TeleFilm Canada . 31 May 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2018 .
^ Leiren-Young, Mark (24 November 2005). "Jean-Marc Vallée's keeps C.R.A.Z.Y. in Quebec" . The Georgia Straight . Retrieved 12 April 2017 .
^ "Nine foreign-language films compete for Oscar slots" . USA Today . 15 January 2008. Retrieved 30 December 2016 .
^ "En bref – Ce qu'il faut pour vivre, présélectionné aux Oscars" . Le Devoir . 14 January 2009. Retrieved 31 December 2016 .
^ "Xavier Dolan's killer debut is Canada's Oscar pick" . CBC News . 22 September 2009. Retrieved 2 April 2017 .
^ "Canada picks 'Incendies' to vie for Oscar" . hollywoodreporter . Archived from the original on 1 October 2010. Retrieved 29 September 2010 .
^ "Monsieur Lazhar is Canada's Oscar selection" . Vancouver Sun . Retrieved 22 September 2011 .
^ "Oscars 2012: Nominees in full" . BBC News. 24 January 2012. Archived from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2012 .
^ "Kim Nguyen's Rebelle (War Witch) is Canada's Oscar submission for best foreign language film" . Montreal Gazette . 18 September 2012. Archived from the original on 22 September 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2012 .
^ "Oscars: Hollywood announces 85th Academy Award nominations" . BBC News. 9 January 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2013 .
^ "Gabrielle gets Canada's Oscar selection for best foreign film" . The Canadian Press. Retrieved 24 September 2013 .
^ "Dolan's 'Mommy' Canada's Oscar bid" . Brampton Guardian . Retrieved 19 September 2014 .
^ Vlessing, Etan (25 September 2015). "Oscars: Canada Submits 'Felix and Meira' for Foreign-Language Category" . The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 25 September 2015 .
^ Vlessing, Etan (23 September 2016). "Oscars: Canada Selects 'It's Only the End of the World' for Foreign-Language Category" . The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 23 September 2016 .
^ "Oscars: Nine Films Advance in Foreign-Language Race" . Variety . 15 December 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016 .
^ Wong, Jessica (25 September 2017). "Hochelaga, terre des âmes named Canada's foreign-language contender for the Oscars" . CBC News. Retrieved 25 September 2017 .
^ Vlessing, Etan (19 September 2018). "Oscars: Canada Selects 'Watch Dog' for Foreign-Language Category" . The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 19 September 2018 .
^ Vlessing, Etan (20 September 2019). "Oscars: Canada Selects Sophie Deraspe's 'Antigone' Refugee Drama for International Feature Film Category" . The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 20 September 2019 .
^ Lussier, Marc-André (19 December 2020). "14 jours 12 nuits représentera le Canada aux Oscars" . La Presse . Retrieved 19 December 2020 .
^ "Drunken Birds [Les oiseaux ivres] represents Canada in the race for Best International Feature Film at the 2022 Oscars" . Telefilm Canada . 4 October 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021 .
^ Jackson Weaver, "Eternal Spring named Canada's submission for Oscars' best international film" . CBC News , August 24, 2022.
^ Joseph Pugh, "Documentary about jailed ISIS fighters is Canada's international entry for 2024 Oscars" . CBC News , August 24, 2023.