Austria has submitted films for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film[nb 1] since 1961. 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]
Four Austrian films have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film: Wolfgang Glück's '38 - Vienna Before the Fall at the 59th Academy Awards, Stefan Ruzowitzky's The Counterfeiters at the 80th Academy Awards, Gotz Spielmann's Revanche at the 81st Academy Awards, and Michael Haneke's Amour at the 85th Academy Awards.[5][6] Ruzowitzky's The Counterfeiters and Haneke's Amour won the award.[7]
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 Austria for review by the Academy for the award by year and the respective Academy Awards ceremony.
Most Austrian submissions were primarily in German. Austria's 2001 and 2005 submissions were filmed in French, and dubbed into German when they were submitted for consideration to the Academy,[8] while a subsequent rule change allowed them to send a third film in French in 2012. Austria's 2009 submission was mostly in Persian and Turkish and their 2010 submission was in Italian.
| Year (Ceremony) |
Film title used in nomination | Original title | Director(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 (34th) |
Jedermann | Jedermann | Gottfried Reinhardt | Not nominated |
| 1969 (42nd) |
Moss on the Stones | Moos auf den Steinen | Georg Lhotsky | Not nominated |
| 1977 (50th) |
I Want to Live | Ich will leben | Jörg A. Eggers | Not nominated |
| 1979 (52nd) |
Tales from the Vienna Woods | Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald | Maximilian Schell | Not nominated |
| 1980 (53rd) |
Egon Schiele | Egon Schiele – Exzesse | Herbert Vesely | Not nominated |
| 1981 (54th) |
Der Bockerer | Der Bockerer | Franz Antel | Not nominated |
| 1983 (56th) |
Tramps | Die letzte Runde | Peter Patzak | Not nominated |
| 1984 (57th) |
Just Behind the Door | Dicht hinter der Tür | Mansur Madavi | Not nominated |
| 1985 (58th) |
Malambo | Malambo | Milan Dor | Not nominated |
| 1986 (59th) |
'38 – Vienna Before the Fall | '38 – Auch das war Wien | Wolfgang Glück | Nominated |
| 1987 (60th) |
Welcome in Vienna | Wohin und zurück – Welcome in Vienna | Axel Corti | Not nominated |
| 1988 (61st) |
Undiscovered Country | Das weite Land | Luc Bondy | Not nominated |
| 1989 (62nd) |
The Seventh Continent | Der siebente Kontinent | Michael Haneke | Not nominated |
| 1990 (63rd) |
Requiem for Dominic | Requiem für Dominik | Robert Dornhelm | Not nominated |
| 1991 (64th) |
I Love Vienna | I Love Vienna | Houchang Allahyari | Not nominated |
| 1992 (65th) |
Benny's Video | Benny's Video | Michael Haneke | Not nominated |
| 1993 (66th) |
Indien | Indien | Paul Harather | Not nominated |
| 1994 (67th) |
I Promise | Ich gelobe | Wolfgang Murnberger | Not nominated |
| 1995 (68th) |
Ant Street | Die Ameisenstraße | Michael Glawogger | Not nominated |
| 1996 (69th) |
Hannah | Hannah | Reinhard Schwabenitzky | Not nominated |
| 1997 (70th) |
The Unfish | Der Unfisch | Robert Dornhelm | Not nominated |
| 1998 (71st) |
The Inheritors | Die Siebtelbauern | Stefan Ruzowitzky | Not nominated |
| 1999 (72nd) |
Northern Skirts | Nordrand | Barbara Albert | Not nominated |
| 2000 (73rd) |
The Stranger | Die Fremde | Götz Spielmann | Not nominated |
| 2001 (74th) |
The Piano Teacher | La Pianiste | Michael Haneke | Not nominated |
| 2002 (75th) |
Gebürtig | Gebürtig | Robert Schindel, Lukas Stepanik | Not nominated |
| 2003 (76th) |
Free Radicals | Böse Zellen | Barbara Albert | Not nominated |
| 2004 (77th) |
Antares | Antares | Götz Spielmann | Not nominated |
| 2005 (78th) |
Caché [9] | Caché | Michael Haneke | Disqualified |
| 2006 (79th) |
You Bet Your Life | Spiele Leben | Antonin Svoboda | Not nominated |
| 2007 (80th) |
The Counterfeiters | Die Fälscher | Stefan Ruzowitzky | Won Academy Award |
| 2008 (81st) |
Revanche[10] | Revanche | Götz Spielmann | Nominated |
| 2009 (82nd) |
For a Moment, Freedom | Ein Augenblick Freiheit | Arash T. Riahi | Not nominated |
| 2010 (83rd) |
La Pivellina[11] | La Pivellina | Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel | Not nominated |
| 2011 (84th) |
Breathing[12] | Atmen | Karl Markovics | Not nominated |
| 2012 (85th) |
Amour[13] | Amour | Michael Haneke | Won Academy Award |
| 2013 (86th) |
The Wall[14] | Die Wand | Julian Pölsler | Not nominated |
| 2014 (87th) |
The Dark Valley[15] | Das finstere Tal | Andreas Prochaska | Not nominated |
| 2015 (88th) |
Goodnight Mommy[16] | Ich seh Ich seh | Veronika Franz, Severin Fiala | Not nominated |
| 2016 (89th) |
Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe[17] | Vor der Morgenröte | Maria Schrader | Not nominated |
| 2017 (90th) |
Happy End[18] | Happy End | Michael Haneke | Not nominated |
| 2018 (91st) |
The Waldheim Waltz[19] | Waldheims Walzer | Ruth Beckermann | Not nominated |
| 2019 (92nd) |
Joy[20] | Joy | Sudabeh Mortezai | Disqualified[21] |
| 2020 (93rd) |
What We Wanted[22] | Was wir wollten | Ulrike Kofler | Not nominated |
| 2021 (94th) |
Great Freedom[23] | Große Freiheit | Sebastian Meise | Made shortlist[24] |
