Ukraine has submitted films for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film[nb 1] since 1997. 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] As of 2021, fourteen films have been selected to represent Ukraine in this category, and five were accepted and screened by AMPAS. The sixth film, A Driver for Vera was disqualified for having insufficient Ukrainian origins.

Submissions

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. 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 Ukraine for review by the Academy for the award by year and the respective Academy Awards ceremony.

Year
(Ceremony)		 Film title used in nomination Original title Language(s) Director(s) Result
1997
(70th) 		A Friend of the Deceased Приятель небіжчика Russian, Ukrainian Viacheslav Kryshtofovych Not nominated
2003
(76th) 		Mamay [4] Мамай Ukrainian, Crimean Tatar Oles Sanin Not nominated
2004
(77th) 		A Driver for Vera [5] Водій для Віри Russian Pavlo Chukhrai Disqualified
2006
(79th) 		Aurora [6] Аврора (Avrora) Oksana Bairak Not nominated
2008
(81st) 		Illusion of Fear [7] Ілюзія страху Russian, Ukrainian Oleksandr Kiriyenko Not nominated
2012
(85th) 		Firecrosser[8] Той, хто пройшов крізь вогонь Ukrainian, English, Russian, Crimean Tatar Mykhailo Illienko Not nominated
2013
(86th) 		Paradjanov[9] Параджанов Russian, Ukrainian Serge Avedikian,
Olena Fetisova 		Not nominated
2014
(87th) 		The Guide[10] Поводир Ukrainian, Russian, English Oles Sanin Not nominated
2016
(89th) 		Ukrainian Sheriffs[11] Українські шерифи Ukrainian, Russian Roman Bondarchuk Not nominated
2017
(90th) 		Black Level[12] Рівень чорного No dialogue Valentyn Vasianovych Not nominated
2018
(91st) 		Donbass[13] Донбас Russian, Ukrainian Sergei Loznitsa Not nominated
2019
(92nd) 		Homeward[14] Додому Crimean Tatar, Ukrainian Nariman Aliev Not nominated
2020
(93rd) 		Atlantis[15] Атлантида Ukrainian Valentyn Vasyanovych Not nominated
2021
(94th) 		Bad Roads[16] Погані дороги Russian, Ukrainian Nataliia Vorozhbyt Not nominated
2022
(95th) 		Klondike[17] Клондайк Ukrainian, Russian, Chechen, Dutch Maryna Er Gorbach Not nominated
2023
(96th) 		20 Days in Mariupol[18] 20 днів у Маріуполі Ukrainian, Russian Mstyslav Chernov Made shortlist

Additionally, a Ukrainian film, Wartime Romance, was selected by the Soviet Union in 1984.

The Ukrainians have had a shaky record in this category:

Black comedy Friend of the Deceased (in Russian), surreal romance Mamay (in Ukrainian), and political thriller-cum-fantasy Illusion of Fear (in Russian) all represented the country without incident.

Shortlisted finalists

In 2020, The Earth Is Blue as an Orange by Iryna Tsilyk and My Thoughts Are Silent by Antonio Lukich were also shortlisted for consideration.[24]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ 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]

References

  1. ^ "Academy announces rules for 92nd Oscars". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  2. ^ "Academy Announces Rule Changes For 92nd Oscars". Forbes. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  3. ^ 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. 2013. Archived from the original on 22 August 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  4. ^ "Ukraine nominates "Mamay" for "Oscar" competition - Новини - KINOKOLO.UA".
  5. ^ "Foreign Oscar Quandary: Academy Nixes "Maria," Colombia Adds "El Rey," and Other Stories from the Fo". 3 November 2004.
  6. ^ 'Аврора' будет представлять Украину на 'Оскаре' ['Aurora' will represent Ukraine for the 'Oscars']. annews.ru (in Russian). 30 November 2006. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2009.
  7. ^ ""Ілюзія страху». Курс — на «Оскар"".
  8. ^ "Ukraine to submit Firecrosser for Best Foreign Language Film at Oscars". Kyiv Post. 5 September 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  9. ^ "Ukraine nominates Paradjanov for Academy Awards". armenpress. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  10. ^ "Oscars: Ukraine Nominates Oles Sanin's 'The Guide' for Foreign Language Category". Hollywood Reporter. 9 September 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  11. ^ "Ukraine selects its candidate for foreign-language Oscar". Ukraine Today. 9 September 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  12. ^ Holdsworth, Nick (29 August 2017). "Oscars: Ukraine Selects 'Black Level' for Foreign-Language Category". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  13. ^ Kozlov, Vladimir (29 August 2018). "Oscars: Ukraine Selects 'Donbass' for Foreign-Language Category". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  14. ^ "Ukrainian film Homeward about annexed Crimea goes for Oscar". Opinion UA. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  15. ^ "Film 'Atlantis' has more chances for Oscars than Ukrainian nominees of past years - head of Ukrainian Oscar Committee". Interfax Ukraine. 24 September 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  16. ^ "Bad roads de Vorozhbyt representará a Ucrania en los Oscar". Ukrinform. 24 September 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  17. ^ "Oscars best international feature 2023: all the films submitted so far". Screendayly. 8 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  18. ^ Horlach, Polina (18 September 2023). ""20 днів у Маріуполі": обрали претендента на "Оскар-2024" від України" ["20 days in Mariupol": a candidate for "Oscar-2024" from Ukraine was chosen] (in Ukrainian).
  19. ^ "Ukrainian Film Club of Columbia University".
  20. ^ Вітчизняне кіно: шукайте в кінотеатрах - Telekrytyka, 29.10.2007 (in Ukrainian)
  21. ^ Молодо-зелено. Чому Україна цього року відмовилася від «Оскара» - Week's mirror, 26.10.2007 (in Ukrainian)
  22. ^ "Oscars: Backlash Over Ukraine's Nomination for Best Foreign Language Category". The Hollywood Reporter. 11 September 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  23. ^ "Oscars: Ukraine Misses Foreign-Language Deadline, Requests Extension". The Hollywood Reporter. October 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  24. ^ "Oscar 2021: announced the participants of the national selection". DzygaMDB. Retrieved 18 September 2020.

External links

Academy Award for Best International Feature Film submissions
Ukrainian submissions for Academy Award for Best International Feature Film
Academy Awards
Categories