List of submissions to the 89th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
This is a list of submissions to the 89th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has invited the film industries of various countries to submit their best film for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film every year since the award was created in 1956. The award is presented annually by the Academy to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue. The Foreign Language Film Award Committee oversees the process and reviews all the submitted films.
The submitted motion pictures must be first released theatrically in their respective countries between 1 October 2015 and 30 September 2016.
The deadline for submissions was 3 October 2016, with the Academy announcing a list of eligible films on 11 October. A record total of 89 countries submitted a film before the deadline and 85 were accepted. Yemen submitted a film for the first time with I Am Nojoom, Age 10 and Divorced, directed by Khadija al-Salami.
Nine finalists from among the dozens of entries were shortlisted on 15 December 2016, with the final five nominees announced on 24 January 2017. Asghar Farhadi of Iran won the award for The Salesman at the Oscar ceremony on 26 February 2017, his second win after A Separation (2011). He did not attend the ceremony to accept the award in protest of new U.S. travel policies.
Submissions
| Submitting Country | Film Title used in nomination | Original Title | Language(s) | Director(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | Parting | رفتن | Persian, Dari | Navid Mahmoudi | Not on the final list |
| Albania | Chromium | Krom | Albanian | Bujar Alimani | Not nominated |
| Algeria | The Well | Le puits | French, Arabic | Lotfi Bouchouchi | Not nominated |
| Argentina | The Distinguished Citizen | El Ciudadano Ilustre | Spanish | Gastón Duprat, Mariano Cohn | Not nominated |
| Armenia | Earthquake | Երկրաշարժ / Землетрясение | Armenian, Russian | Sarik Andreasyan | Disqualified |
| Australia | Tanna | Southwest Tanna | Martin Butler, Bentley Dean | Nominated | |
| Austria | Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe | Vor der Morgenröte | German | Maria Schrader | Not nominated |
| Bangladesh | The Unnamed | অজ্ঞাতনামা | Bengali | Tauquir Ahmed | Not nominated |
| Belgium | The Ardennes | D'Ardennen | Flemish, French, Dutch | Robin Pront | Not nominated |
| Bolivia | Sealed Cargo | Carga Sellada | Spanish | Julia Vargas-Weise | Not nominated |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Death in Sarajevo | Smrt u Sarajevu | Bosnian, French | Danis Tanović | Not nominated |
| Brazil | Little Secret | Pequeno segredo | Brazilian Portuguese, English | David Schurmann | Not nominated |
| Bulgaria | Losers | Каръци | Bulgarian | Ivaylo Hristov | Not nominated |
| Cambodia | Before the Fall | មុនពេលបែកបាក់ | Khmer, English, French | Ian White | Not nominated |
| Cameroon | Yahan Ameena Bikti Hai | यहां अमीना बिकती है | Hindi | Kumar Raj | Not on the final list |
| Canada | It's Only the End of the World | Juste la fin du monde | French | Xavier Dolan | Made shortlist |
| Chile | Neruda | Spanish | Pablo Larraín | Not nominated | |
| China | Xuan Zang | 大唐玄奘 | Mandarin | Huo Jianqi | Not nominated |
| Colombia | Alias Maria | Alias María | Spanish | José Luis Rugeles Gracia | Not nominated |
| Costa Rica | About Us | Entonces Nosotros | Hernán Jiménez | Not nominated | |
| Croatia | On the Other Side | S one strane | Croatian | Zrinko Ogresta | Not nominated |
| Cuba | The Companion | El acompañante | Spanish | Pavel Giroud | Not nominated |
| Czech Republic | Lost in Munich | Ztraceni v Mnichově | Czech | Petr Zelenka | Not nominated |
| Denmark | Land of Mine | Under sandet | Danish, German, English | Martin Zandvliet | Nominated |
| Dominican Republic | Sugar Fields | Flor de Azúcar | Spanish | Fernando Baez Mella | Not nominated |
| Ecuador | Such Is Life in the Tropics | Sin Muertos No Hay Carnaval | Sebastián Cordero | Not nominated | |
| Egypt | Clash | اشتباك | Arabic | Mohamed Diab | Not nominated |
| Estonia | Mother | Ema | Estonian | Kadri Kõusaar | Not nominated |
| Finland | The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki | Hymyilevä mies | Finnish, English | Juho Kuosmanen | Not nominated |
| France | Elle | French | Paul Verhoeven | Not nominated | |
| Georgia | House of Others | სხვისი სახლი | Georgian | Rusudan Glurjidze | Not nominated |
| Germany | Toni Erdmann | German, English, Romanian | Maren Ade | Nominated | |
| Greece | Chevalier | Greek | Athina Rachel Tsangari | Not nominated | |
| Hong Kong | Port of Call | 踏血尋梅 | Cantonese, Mandarin | Philip Yung | Not nominated |
| Hungary | Kills on Wheels | Tiszta szívvel | Hungarian | Attila Till | Not nominated |
| Iceland | Sparrows | Þrestir | Icelandic | Rúnar Rúnarsson | Not nominated |
| India | Interrogation | விசாரணை | Tamil | Vetrimaaran | Not nominated |
| Indonesia | Letters from Prague | Surat dari Praha | Indonesian, Czech, English | Angga Dwimas Sasongko | Not nominated |
| Iran | The Salesman | فروشنده | Persian | Asghar Farhadi | Won Academy Award |
| Iraq | El Clásico | ئێل کلاسیکۆ | Sorani Kurdish | Halkawt Mustafa | Not nominated |
| Israel | Sand Storm | عاصفة رملية | Arabic | Elite Zexer | Not nominated |
| Italy | Fire at Sea | Fuocoammare | Italian, English | Gianfranco Rosi | Not nominated |
| Japan | Nagasaki: Memories of My Son | 母と暮せば | Japanese | Yoji Yamada | Not nominated |
| Jordan | 3000 Nights | ٣٠٠٠ ليلة | Arabic, Hebrew | Mai Masri | Not nominated |
| Kazakhstan | Amanat | Аманат | Kazakh, Russian | Satybaldy Narymbetov | Not nominated |
| Kosovo | Home Sweet Home | Albanian | Faton Bajraktari | Not nominated | |
| Kyrgyzstan | A Father's Will | Атанын керээзи | Kyrgyz | Bakyt Mukul, Dastan Japar Uulu | Not nominated |
| Latvia | Dawn | Ausma | Latvian | Laila Pakalniņa | Not nominated |
| Lebanon | Very Big Shot | فيلم كتير كبير | Lebanese Arabic, French, English | Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya | Not nominated |
| Lithuania | Seneca's Day | Senekos diena | Lithuanian, Russian, Estonian | Kristijonas Vildziunas | Not nominated |
| Luxembourg | Voices from Chernobyl | La Supplication | French | Pol Cruchten | Not nominated |
| Macedonia | The Liberation of Skopje | Ослободување на Скопје | Macedonian, German, Bulgarian | Rade Šerbedžija, Danilo Šerbedžija | Not nominated |
| Malaysia | Beautiful Pain | Redha | Malay | Tunku Mona Riza | Not nominated |
| Mexico | Desierto | Spanish, English | Jonás Cuarón | Not nominated | |
| Montenegro | The Black Pin | Igla ispod praga | Montenegrin, Serbian | Ivan Marinovic | Not nominated |
| Morocco | A Mile in My Shoes | مسافة ميل بحذائي | Arabic | Said Khallaf | Not nominated |
| Nepal | The Black Hen | कालो पोथी | Nepali | Min Bahadur Bham | Not nominated |
| Netherlands | Tonio | Dutch | Paula van der Oest | Not nominated | |
| New Zealand | A Flickering Truth | Dari | Pietra Brettkelly | Not nominated | |
| Norway | The King's Choice | Kongens nei | Norwegian, Danish, German, Swedish | Erik Poppe | Made shortlist |
| Pakistan | Mah-e-Mir | ماہ میر | Urdu | Anjum Shahzad | Not nominated |
| Palestine | The Idol | يا طير الطاير | Arabic, Spanish | Hany Abu-Assad | Not nominated |
| Panama | Salsipuedes | Spanish | Ricardo Aguilar Navarro, Manuel Rodríguez | Not nominated | |
| Peru | Videophilia (and Other Viral Syndromes) | Videofilia: y otros síndromes virales | Spanish, English | Juan Daniel Fernández | Not nominated |
| Philippines | Ma' Rosa | Tagalog, Filipino | Brillante Mendoza | Not nominated | |
| Poland | Afterimage | Powidoki | Polish | Andrzej Wajda | Not nominated |
| Portugal | Letters from War | Cartas da Guerra | Portuguese | Ivo M. Ferreira | Not nominated |
| Romania | Sieranevada | Romanian | Cristi Puiu | Not nominated | |
| Russia | Paradise | Рай | Russian, German, French, Yiddish | Andrei Konchalovsky | Made shortlist |
| Saudi Arabia | Barakah Meets Barakah | بركة يقابل بركة | Arabic | Mahmoud Sabbagh | Not nominated |
| Serbia | Train Driver's Diary | Дневник машиновође | Serbian | Miloš Radović | Not nominated |
| Singapore | Apprentice | Malay, English | Boo Junfeng | Not nominated | |
| Slovakia | Eva Nová | Slovak | Marko Škop | Not nominated | |
| Slovenia | Houston, We Have a Problem! | Houston, imamo problem! | Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, English | Žiga Virc | Not nominated |
| South Africa | Call Me Thief | Noem My Skollie | Afrikaans | Daryne Joshua | Not nominated |
| South Korea | The Age of Shadows | 밀정 | Korean | Kim Jee-woon | Not nominated |
| Spain | Julieta | Spanish | Pedro Almodóvar | Not nominated | |
| Sweden | A Man Called Ove | En man som heter Ove | Swedish | Hannes Holm | Nominated |
| Switzerland | My Life as a Zucchini | Ma vie de Courgette | French | Claude Barras | Made shortlist |
| Taiwan | Hang in There, Kids! | 只要我長大 | Mandarin, Atayal | Laha Mebow | Not nominated |
| Thailand | Karma | อาปัติ | Thai | Kanittha Kwanyu | Not nominated |
| Tunisia | As I Open My Eyes | على حلة عيني | Tunisian Arabic, French | Leyla Bouzid | Not on the final list |
| Turkey | Cold of Kalandar | Kalandar Soğuğu | Turkish | Mustafa Kara | Not nominated |
| Ukraine | Ukrainian Sheriffs | Українські шерифи | Ukrainian, Russian | Roman Bondarchuk | Not nominated |
| United Kingdom | Under the Shadow | زیر سایه | Persian | Babak Anvari | Not nominated |
| Uruguay | Breadcrumbs | Migas de pan | Spanish | Manane Rodriguez | Not nominated |
| Venezuela | From Afar | Desde allá | Lorenzo Vigas | Not nominated | |
| Vietnam | Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass | Tôi thấy hoa vàng trên cỏ xanh | Vietnamese | Victor Vu | Not nominated |
| Yemen | I Am Nojoom, Age 10 and Divorced | أنا نجوم بنت العاشره ومطلقة | Arabic | Khadija al-Salami | Not nominated |