The Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film is a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

presented by the

Hollywood Foreign Press Association The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) is a nonprofit organization of journalists and photographers who report on the entertainment industry activity and interests in the United States for media (newspaper, magazine and book publication ...

. Until 1986, it was known as the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film, meaning that any non-American film could be honoured. In 1987, it was changed to Best Foreign ''Language'' Film, so that non-American English-language films are now considered for the Best Motion Picture awards. Additionally, this change makes American films primarily in another language eligible for this award, including winners like ''

Letters from Iwo Jima is a 2006 Japanese-language American war film directed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood, starring Ken Watanabe and Kazunari Ninomiya. The film portrays the Battle of Iwo Jima from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers and is a companion ...

'' and '' Minari'' as well as nominees such as ''

Apocalypto ''Apocalypto'' () is a 2006 action adventure film produced, co-written, and directed by Mel Gibson. The film features a cast of Native American and Indigenous Mexican actors consisting of Rudy Youngblood, Raoul Trujillo, Mayra Sérbulo, Dali ...

'', ''

The Kite Runner ''The Kite Runner'' is the first novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. Published in 2003 by Riverhead Books, it tells the story of Amir, a young boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul. The story is set against a backdrop of ...

'', and ''

In the Land of Blood and Honey ''In the Land of Blood and Honey'' ( bs, U zemlji krvi i meda) is a 2011 war drama film written, produced, and directed by Angelina Jolie and starring Zana Marjanović, Goran Kostić, and Rade Šerbedžija. The film, Jolie's first commercial re ...

''. Note that since the 1987 change in the criteria for this award, its eligibility criteria have been considerably broader than those for the

Academy Award for Best International Feature 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 ...

(known before 2020 as Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film). American films have never been eligible for this award, and even non-U.S. films had to have principal dialogue in a native (non-English) language of the submitting country until

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

. Before 1974, the award was given only infrequently, and with several films being jointly honoured per year. The most honored country in this category is the United Kingdom, with seven films honored. The most honoured countries after 1987 are Spain and France.

Eligibility criteria

Like the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, this award does not require that an eligible film be released in the United States. The official rules for the award state that submitted films must be at least 70 minutes in length and have at least 51% of their dialogue in a language other than English, and that they be "first released in their country of origin during the 14-months period from November 1 to December 31, prior to the Awards". Films that were not released in their country of origin due to censorship qualify with a one-week release in the U.S. during the specified period. The

(HFPA), presenter of the Golden Globes, also does not limit the number of submitted films from a given country. This differs from the practice of the Academy Awards' presenter, 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 motion ...

(AMPAS), which limits each country to one submission per year. See especially Rule 14, "Special Rules for the Foreign Language Film Award". The two presenting organizations also differ slightly in their eligibility practices with respect to other awards. All foreign-language films, even those not submitted or not eligible for the Best International Feature Film Oscar, are eligible for all other Academy Awards as long as they are released in

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, ...

during the award year. The HFPA, however, specifically makes foreign-language films ineligible for its two Best Picture Awards for live-action films ( Best Drama and Best Musical or Comedy).

Best Foreign-Language Foreign Film

*1949: ''

Bicycle Thieves ''Bicycle Thieves'' ( it, Ladri di biciclette; sometimes known in the United States as ''The Bicycle Thief'') is a 1948 Italian neorealist drama film directed by Vittorio De Sica. It follows the story of a poor father searching in post- World ...

(Ladri di biciclette)'' (Italy) *1954: ''

Twenty-Four Eyes is a 1954 Japanese drama film directed by Keisuke Kinoshita, based on the 1952 novel of the same name by Sakae Tsuboi. The film stars Hideko Takamine as a schoolteacher named Hisako Ōishi, who lives during the rise and fall of Japanese nati ...

'' (''Nijushi no hitomi'') (Japan); '' No Way Back'' (''Weg Ohne Umkehr'') (West Germany); '' The Lady of the Camelias'' (Argentina); ''

Genevieve Genevieve (french: link=no, Sainte Geneviève; la, Sancta Genovefa, Genoveva; 419/422 AD – 502/512 AD) is the patroness saint of Paris in the Catholic and Orthodox traditions. Her feast is on 3 January. Genevieve was born in Nanterre a ...

'' (United Kingdom) *1955: ''

Ordet ''Ordet'' (, meaning " The Word" and originally released as ''The Word'' in English), is a 1955 Danish drama film, directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer. It is based on a play by Kaj Munk, a Danish Lutheran priest, first performed in 1932. The film w ...

'' (''The Word''); (Denmark); '' Stella'' (Greece); ''

Children, Mother, and the General ''Children, Mother, and the General'' (german: Kinder, Mütter und ein General, and also released as ''Sons, Mothers, and a General'') is a 1955 West German war film directed by László Benedek and starring Hilde Krahl, Therese Giehse and E ...

'' (''Kinder, Mutter und Ein General'') (West Germany); ''Eyes of Children'' (Japan); ''Curvas peligrosas (Dangerous Curves)'' (Mexico); *1956: ''

Before Sundown ''Before Sundown'' (german: Vor Sonnenuntergang) is a 1956 West German drama film directed by Gottfried Reinhardt and starring Hans Albers, Annemarie Düringer and Martin Held. At the 6th Berlin International Film Festival it won the Golden ...

'' (''Vor Sonnenuntergang'') (West Germany); ''

The Girl in Black ''A Girl in Black'' ( el, Το Κορίτσι με τα Μαύρα) is a 1956 Greek dramatic film by the Cypriot director Michael Cacoyannis starring Dimitris Horn and Ellie Lambeti. The film takes place on the Greek island of Hydra, where two A ...

'' (''To Koritsi me ta mavra'') (Greece); ''Roses on the Arm'' (''Taiyo to bara'') (Japan); ''

War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (russian: Война и мир, translit=Voyna i mir; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy that mixes fictional narrative with chapters on history and philosophy. It was first published ...

'' (Italy); ''

The White Reindeer ''The White Reindeer'' ( fi, Valkoinen peura, sv, Den Vita Renen) is a 1952 Finnish horror drama film directed by Erik Blomberg in his feature film debut. It was entered in competition at the 1953 Cannes Film Festival and earned the Jean Coc ...

'' (''Valkoinen Peura'') (Finland) *1957: ''

Confessions of Felix Krull ''Confessions of Felix Krull'' () is an unfinished 1954 novel by the German author Thomas Mann. Synopsis The novel is narrated by the protagonist, an impostor and adventurer named Felix Krull, the son of a ruined Rhineland winemaker. Felix avoi ...

'' (''Bekenntnisse des Hochstaplers Felix Krull'') (West Germany); ''

Tizoc Tizocic or Tizocicatzin usually known in English as Tizoc, was the seventh ''tlatoani'' of Tenochtitlan. His name means, "He who makes sacrifices" or "He who does penance." Either Tizoc or his successor Ahuitzotl was the first ''tlatoani'' of ...

'' (Mexico); ''

Yellow Crow is a 1957 Japanese drama film directed by Heinosuke Gosho. Plot Kiyoshi Yoshida is a 9 years old boy. The boy loves to draw and he has some talent, but his teacher is worried because he draws only in black and yellow (that's where the title is f ...

'' (''Kiiroi karasu'') (Japan) *1958: ''

Girl and the River ''Girl and the River'' (french: L'Eau vive) is a 1958 French drama film directed by François Villiers. It was entered into the 1958 Cannes Film Festival. Cast In alphabetical order * Henri Arius - The uncle from Cavaillon * Pascale Audret ...

(L'Eau vive)'' (France); '' The Road a Year Long (Cesta duga godinu dana)'' (Yugoslavia); ''

Rosemary ''Salvia rosmarinus'' (), commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native plant, native to the Mediterranean Region, Mediterranean region. Until 2017, it was kn ...

(Das Mädchen Rosemarie)'' (West Germany) *1959: '' Die Brücke (The Bridge)'' (West Germany); ''

Black Orpheus ''Black Orpheus'' ( Portuguese: ''Orfeu Negro'' ) is a 1959 romantic tragedy film made in Brazil by French director Marcel Camus and starring Marpessa Dawn and Breno Mello. It is based on the play ''Orfeu da Conceição'' by Vinicius de Mora ...

(Orfeu Negro)'' (Brazil/France); '' Odd Obsession (Kagi)'' (Japan); '' Wild Strawberries (Smultronstället)'' (Sweden); '' Wir Wunderkinder (Aren't We Wonderful?)'' (West Germany) *1960: '' The Virgin Spring (Jungfrukällan)'' (Sweden); ''

The Truth The Truth may refer to: Film * ''The Truth'' (1920 film) starring Madge Kennedy * ''The Truth'' (1960 film) or ''La Vérité'', a French film by Henri-Georges Clouzot starring Brigitte Bardot * ''The Truth'' (1988 film), a Hong Kong trial crim ...

'' ''(La Vérité)'' (France) *1961: ''

Two Women ''Two Women'' ( it, La ciociara , rough literal translation "The Woman from Ciociaria") is a 1960 war drama film directed by Vittorio De Sica from a screenplay by Cesare Zavattini and De Sica, based on the novel of the same name by Alberto ...

(La ciociara)'' (Italy) *1962: ''

Divorce Italian Style ''Divorce Italian Style'' ( it, Divorzio all'italiana) is a 1961 Italian dark comedy film directed by Pietro Germi. The screenplay is by Germi, Ennio De Concini, Alfredo Giannetti, and Agenore Incrocci, based on Giovanni Arpino's novel '' Un de ...

(Divorzio all'italiana)'' (Italy) *1963: '' Any Number Can Win (Mélodie en sous-sol)'' (France) *1964: '' Marriage Italian Style (Matrimonio all'italiana)'' (Italy) and ''

Sallah Shabati ''Sallah Shabati'' ( he, סאלח שבתי) is a 1964 Israeli comedy film about the chaos of Israeli immigration and resettlement. This social satire placed the director Ephraim Kishon and producer Menahem Golan among the first Israeli filmmaker ...

'' (Israel) Notes: * The winner in each year is shown with a blue background.

Best Foreign Film – English Language

Awards for Foreign Language Films

1965-1972: Best Foreign Film – Foreign Language
1973-1985: Best Foreign Film
1986–present: Best Foreign Language Film

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

References

{{Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film

Foreign Language Film World cinema is a term in film theory that refers to films made outside of the American motion picture industry, particularly those in opposition to the aesthetics and values of commercial American cinema.Nagib, Lúcia. "Towards a positive de ...

Film awards for Best Foreign Language Film History of immigration to the United States