# List of submissions to the 81st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film

This is a list of submissions to the 81st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. 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 every year since the award was created in 1956. The award is handed out 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.
For the 81st Academy Awards, the Academy invited 96 countries to submit films for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Only one film was accepted from each country, and the deadline by which copies of all submitted films must be sent to the Academy was October 1, 2008. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released its official list of submissions on October 17, 2008. Submission of a film does not mean automatic qualification for competition: the Academy has the final word on eligibility and has in the past disqualified several submissions. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that a "record 67-strong" list of films were submitted for the competition. The Middle Eastern kingdom of Jordan submitted a film for the first time and Latvia returned to the competition after a 15-year absence.
The Oscar Foreign Film Committee began screening the foreign film entries on October 17, 2008. A shortlist of nine semi-finalists was announced January 13, 2009. Due to a new rule, only six films on the shortlist were decided based on the votes of the at-large committee. The other three were selected by the Academy's foreign film executive committee. The official nominees were announced on January 22, 2009.
Japan won the award for the fourth time, its first competitive win after three Honorary Awards in the 50's, with Departures by Yōjirō Takita.

## Submissions

The following is based upon the official list by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
| Submitting country | Film title used in nomination | Original title | Language(s) | Director(s) | Result |
| Afghanistan | Opium War | جنگ تریاک | Dari, English | Siddiq Barmak | Not nominated |
| Albania | The Sorrow of Mrs. Schneider | Trishtimi i zonjës Shnajder | Albanian, Czech | Eno Milkani and Piro Milkani | Not nominated |
| Algeria | Masquerades | مسخرة | Algerian Arabic, French | Lyes Salem | Not nominated |
| Argentina | Lion's Den | Leonera | Spanish | Pablo Trapero | Not nominated |
| Austria | Revanche | Revanche | German, Russian | Götz Spielmann | Nominated |
| Azerbaijan | Fortress | Qala | Azeri | Shamil Nacafzade | Not nominated |
| Bangladesh | Aha! | আহা! | Bengali | Enamul Karim Nirjhar | Not nominated |
| Belgium | Eldorado | Eldorado | French | Bouli Lanners | Not nominated |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Snow | Snijeg | Bosnian | Aida Begić | Not nominated |
| Brazil | Last Stop 174 | Última Parada 174 | Brazilian Portuguese | Bruno Barreto | Not nominated |
| Bulgaria | Zift | Дзифт | Bulgarian | Javor Gardev | Not nominated |
| Canada | The Necessities of Life | Ce qu'il faut pour vivre, Inuujjutiksaq | French, Inuktitut | Benoît Pilon | Made shortlist |
| Chile | Tony Manero | Tony Manero | Spanish | Pablo Larraín | Not nominated |
| China | Dream Weavers: Beijing 2008 | 筑梦 | Mandarin | Yun Gu | Not nominated |
| Colombia | Dog Eat Dog | Perro come Perro | Spanish | Carlos Moreno | Not nominated |
| Croatia | No One's Son | Ničiji Sin | Croatian | Arsen Anton Ostojić | Not nominated |
| Czech Republic | The Karamazovs | Karamazovi | Czech, Polish | Petr Zelenka | Not nominated |
| Denmark | Worlds Apart | To verdener | Danish | Niels Arden Oplev | Not nominated |
| Egypt | The Island | الجزيرة | Egyptian Arabic | Sherif Arafa | Not nominated |
| Estonia | I Was Here | Mina olin siin. Esimene arest | Estonian | René Vilbre | Not nominated |
| Finland | The Home of Dark Butterflies | Tummien perhosten koti | Finnish | Dome Karukoski | Not nominated |
| France | The Class | Entre les murs | French | Laurent Cantet | Nominated |
| Georgia | Mediator | მედიატორი | German, Russian, English | Dito Tsintsadze | Not nominated |
| Germany | The Baader Meinhof Complex | Der Baader Meinhof Komplex | German | Uli Edel | Nominated |
| Greece | Correction | Διόρθωση | Greek | Thanos Anastopoulos | Not nominated |
| Hong Kong | Painted Skin | 畫皮 | Mandarin | Gordon Chan | Not nominated |
| Hungary | Iska's Journey | Iszka utazása | Hungarian, Romanian | Csaba Bollók | Not nominated |
| Iceland | White Night Wedding | Brúðguminn | Icelandic | Baltasar Kormákur | Not nominated |
| India | Like Stars on Earth | तारे ज़मीन पर | Hindi | Aamir Khan | Not nominated |
| Iran | The Song of Sparrows | آواز گنجشکها | Persian, Azeri | Majid Majidi | Not nominated |
| Israel | Waltz with Bashir | ואלס עם באשיר | Hebrew | Ari Folman | Nominated |
| Italy | Gomorrah | Gomorra | Neapolitan, Italian | Matteo Garrone | Not nominated |
| Japan | Departures | おくりびと | Japanese | Yōjirō Takita | Won Academy Award |
| Jordan | Captain Abu Raed | كابتن أبو رائد | Jordanian Arabic | Amin Matalqa | Not nominated |
| Kazakhstan | Tulpan | Тюльпан | Kazakh, Russian | Sergey Dvortsevoy | Not nominated |
| Kyrgyzstan | Heaven's Blue | Тенгри | Kyrgyz, Russian | Marie-Jaoul de Ponchville | Not nominated |
| Latvia | Defenders of Riga | Rīgas sargi | Latvian, German, Russian | Aigars Grauba | Not nominated |
| Lebanon | Under the Bombs | تحت القصف | Lebanese Arabic, French | Philippe Aractingi | Not nominated |
| Lithuania | Loss | Nereikalingi žmonės | Lithuanian | Māris Martinsons | Not nominated |
| Luxembourg | Nuits d'Arabie | Nuits d'Arabie | French, Luxembourgish, Arabic | Paul Kieffer | Not nominated |
| Macedonia | I'm From Titov Veles | Јас сум од Титов Велес | Macedonian | Teona Strugar Mitevska | Not nominated |
| Mexico | Tear This Heart Out | Arráncame la vida | Spanish | Roberto Sneider | Made shortlist |
| Morocco | Goodbye Mothers | وداعا أمهات | French, Moroccan Arabic | Mohamed Ismail | Not nominated |
| Netherlands | Dunya and Desi | Dunya en Desi in Marokko | Dutch, Moroccan Arabic | Dana Nechushtan | Not nominated |
| Norway | O' Horten | O' Horten | Norwegian | Bent Hamer | Not nominated |
| Palestine | Salt of this Sea | ملح هذا البحر | Palestinian Arabic | Annemarie Jacir | Not nominated |
| Philippines | Ploning | Ploning | Cuyonon, Filipino, Tagalog, Taiwanese | Dante Nico Garcia | Not nominated |
| Poland | Tricks | Sztuczki | Polish | Andrzej Jakimowski | Not nominated |
| Portugal | Our Beloved Month of August | Aquele Querido Mês de Agosto | Portuguese | Miguel Gomes | Not nominated |
| Romania | The Rest is Silence | Restul e tăcere | Romanian | Nae Caranfil | Not nominated |
| Russia | Mermaid | Русалка | Russian | Anna Melikyan | Not nominated |
| Serbia | The Tour | Турнеја | Serbian | Goran Marković | Not nominated |
| Singapore | My Magic | மை மேஜிக் | Tamil | Eric Khoo | Not nominated |
| Slovakia | Blind Loves | Slepé lásky | Slovak | Juraj Lehotsky | Not nominated |
| Slovenia | Rooster's Breakfast | Petelinji zajtrk | Slovene | Marko Naberšnik | Not nominated |
| South Africa | Jerusalema | Jerusalema | Afrikaans, English, Zulu, Xhosa, Setswana | Ralph Ziman | Not nominated |
| South Korea | Crossing | 크로싱 | Korean | Kim Tae-kyun | Not nominated |
| Spain | The Blind Sunflowers | Los girasoles ciegos | Spanish | José Luis Cuerda | Not nominated |
| Sweden | Everlasting Moments | Maria Larssons eviga ögonblick | Swedish, Finnish | Jan Troell | Made shortlist |
| Switzerland | The Friend | Der Freund | Swiss German | Micha Lewinsky | Not nominated |
| Taiwan | Cape No. 7 | 海角七號 | Taiwanese Hokkien, Japanese, Mandarin | Wei Te-sheng | Not nominated |
| Thailand | Love of Siam | รักแห่งสยาม | Thai | Chookiat Sakveerakul | Not nominated |
| Turkey | Three Monkeys | Üç Maymun | Turkish | Nuri Bilge Ceylan | Made shortlist |
| Ukraine | The Illusion of Fear | Ілюзія страху | Ukrainian, Russian | Aleksandr Kirienko | Not nominated |
| United Kingdom | Hope Eternal | Hope Eternal | Bemba, Swahili, Afrikaans, Welsh, French, German, English | Karl Francis | Not nominated |
| Uruguay | Kill Them All [es] | Matar a Todos | Spanish | Esteban Schroeder | Not nominated |
| Venezuela | The Color of Fame | El tinte de la fama | Spanish | Alejandro Bellame | Not nominated |