This is a list of submissions to the 88th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. The

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...

(AMPAS) has invited the film industries of various countries to submit their best film for the

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

every year since the award was created in

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

. 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. Nine shortlisted contenders were revealed a week before the announcement of the Oscar nominations. The submitted motion pictures must be first released theatrically in their respective countries between 1 October 2014, and 30 September 2015. The deadline for submissions was 1 October 2015, with the Academy announcing a list of eligible films later that month. A total of 81 countries submitted a film before the deadline, with

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

submitting a film for the first time with the documentary '' Cloudy Times'', directed by Arami Ullon. The Academy announced a list of eligible submissions in October 2015. Nine finalists from among the dozens of entries were shortlisted on 17 December. The final five nominees were announced on 14 January 2016. The winner was Hungary's ''

Son of Saul ''Son of Saul'' ( hu, Saul fia) is a 2015 Hungarian historical drama film directed by László Nemes, in his feature directorial debut, and co-written by Nemes and Clara Royer. It is set in the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II, a ...

'', directed by

László Nemes László Nemes (born Nemes Jeles László; ; 18 February 1977) is a Hungarian film director and screenwriter. His 2015 debut feature film, ''Son of Saul,'' was screened in the main competition at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the ...

Submissions

Notes

* Afghanistan's submission was on the official list, but it was disqualified a few days prior to its Academy screening for having too much dialogue in English. The Afghan filmmakers union tried to appeal, bringing the language breakdown by minutes, but they were unsuccessful. * China's submission was originally reported as being ''

Wolf Totem ''Wolf Totem'' () is a 2004 Chinese semi-autobiographical novel about the experiences of a young student from Beijing who finds himself sent to the countryside of Inner Mongolia in 1967, at the height of China's Cultural Revolution. The author, ...

'' directed by

Jean-Jacques Annaud Jean-Jacques Annaud (; born 1 October 1943) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer, best known for directing ''Quest for Fire'' (1981), ''The Name of the Rose'' (1986), '' The Bear'' (1988), '' The Lover'' (1992), '' Seven Years in ...

, but this was changed to ''

Go Away Mr. Tumor ''Go Away Mr. Tumor'' () is 2015 Chinese comedy-drama film. It is based on the life of comic book artist Xiong Dun, who after her cancer diagnosis authored a popular webcomic that became a sensation in China. Xiong died in 2012 at the age of 30 ...

'' by Han Yan when the final list was released. * Cuba announced that it had convened a selection committee which decided by majority vote not to send a film to the Oscars. * The Nigerian Oscar Selection Committee (NOSC) asked for films to be submitted by 6 July 2015. Nigeria planned to submit a film for the first time last year, but ultimately no entries were eligible. * Panama had reportedly submitted the documentary '' Box 25'' directed by

Mercedes Arias Mercedes Arias (1862 – 7 January 1954) was a Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican musician and composer from Ponce, Puerto Rico. Among her compositions are ''"Renacimiento"'' (Renaissance), and ''"Flores y Perlas"'' (Flowers and Pearls). Profess ...

and Delfina Vidal, but the film was not on the final list. * Ukraine missed the deadline to submit a film, but requested an extension from the Academy.

References

External links

Official website of the Academy Awards
{{Academy Awards lists 2014 in film 2015 in film 88