# List of Colombian submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film

Colombia has submitted films for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film since 1980. 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.
The Colombian submission is decided annually by the Consejo Nacional de Cinematografía, a branch of the Colombian Ministry of Culture. As of 2021, Colombia has entered the competition 30 times, and has been nominated once for an Academy Award.

## 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. Below is a list of the films that have been submitted by Colombia for review by the Academy for the award by year and the respective Academy Awards ceremony.
In 2004, Colombia announced that it had selected Maria Full of Grace as its Oscar submission, and the film was touted as an early front-runner to win the award. However, the film was disqualified by AMPAS which said that the film, a drama which had won Best Colombian Feature at the Cartagena Film Festival, featuring mostly Colombian characters and starring Colombian actress Catalina Sandino Moreno in the title role, did not qualify as a majority Colombian production because it was written and directed by an American, Joshua Marston. After an unsuccessful appeal, Colombia was allowed to send El Rey as a replacement. Although it was disqualified, however, Catalina Sandino Moreno was eventually nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress and holds the title as the only Colombian nominated to an acting category.
Ciro Guerra is currently the director with most submissions with four films, and his 2015 film Embrace of the Serpent is the only Colombian film to be nominated for Best Foreign Language Film. Directors Sergio Cabrera, Carlos Moreno and Jorge Alí Triana have each had their films selected two times, but none have been nominated. Triana's son Rodrigo had one of his films selected in 2006. The actor with the most appearances in the Colombian submissions is renowned Colombian actress Vicky Hernández who co-starred in five of the national nominees. All Colombian submissions were filmed primarily in Spanish, with the exception being Birds of Passage (2018) that was filmed primarily in Wayuu language.
| Year (Ceremony) | English title | Original title | Language(s) | Director | Result |
| 1980 (53rd) | The Latin Immigrant | El inmigrante latino | Spanish | Gustavo Nieto Roa | Not nominated |
| 1984 (57th) | A Man of Principle | Cóndores no entierran todos los días | Spanish | Francisco Norden | Not nominated |
| 1986 (59th) | A Time to Die | Tiempo de morir | Spanish | Jorge Alí Triana | Not nominated |
| 1991 (64th) | Confessing to Laura | Confesión a Laura | Spanish | Jaime Osorio Gómez | Not nominated |
| 1994 (67th) | The Strategy of the Snail | La estrategia del caracol | Spanish | Sergio Cabrera | Not nominated |
| 1996 (69th) | Oedipus Mayor | Edipo Alcalde | Spanish | Jorge Alí Triana | Not nominated |
| 1997 (70th) | The Debt | La deuda | Spanish | Manuel José Álvarez & Nicolás Buenaventura | Not nominated |
| 1998 (71st) | The Rose Seller | La vendedora de rosas | Spanish | Víctor Gaviria | Not nominated |
| 1999 (72nd) | Time Out | Golpe de estadio | Spanish | Sergio Cabrera | Not nominated |
| 2001 (74th) | Our Lady of the Assassins | La virgen de los sicarios | Spanish | Barbet Schroeder | Not nominated |
| 2002 (75th) | The Invisible Children | Los niños invisibles | Spanish | Lisandro Duque Naranjo | Not nominated |
| 2003 (76th) | La Primera Noche | La Primera Noche | Spanish | Luis Alberto Restrepo | Not nominated |
| 2004 (77th) | El Rey | El Rey | Spanish | Antonio Dorado | Not nominated |
| 2005 (78th) | Wandering Shadows | La sombra del caminante | Spanish | Ciro Guerra | Not nominated |
| 2006 (79th) | A Ton of Luck | Soñar no cuesta nada | Spanish | Rodrigo Triana | Not nominated |
| 2007 (80th) | Satanás | Satanás | Spanish | Andrés Baiz | Not nominated |
| 2008 (81st) | Dog Eat Dog | Perro come perro | Spanish | Carlos Moreno | Not nominated |
| 2009 (82nd) | The Wind Journeys | Los viajes del viento | Spanish, Palenquero, Wayuunaiki, Ikun | Ciro Guerra | Not nominated |
| 2010 (83rd) | Crab Trap | El vuelco del cangrejo | Spanish | Oscar Ruiz Navia | Not nominated |
| 2011 (84th) | The Colors of the Mountain | Los colores de la montaña | Spanish | Carlos César Arbeláez | Not nominated |
| 2012 (85th) | The Snitch Cartel | El Cartel de los Sapos | Spanish | Carlos Moreno | Not nominated |
| 2013 (86th) | La Playa DC | La Playa DC | Spanish | Juan Andrés Arango | Not nominated |
| 2014 (87th) | Mateo | Mateo | Spanish | María Gamboa | Not nominated |
| 2015 (88th) | Embrace of the Serpent | El abrazo de la serpiente | Cubeo, Ocaina, German, Huitoto, Bora, Andoque, Yucuna, Muinane, Spanish, Ticuna, Wanano, Catalan, Portuguese, Latin, English | Ciro Guerra | Nominated |
| 2016 (89th) | Alias Maria | Alias Maria | Spanish | José Luis Rugeles Gracia | Not nominated |
| 2017 (90th) | Guilty Men | Pariente | Spanish | Iván Gaona | Not nominated |
| 2018 (91st) | Birds of Passage | Pájaros de verano | Wayuu, Spanish, English, Wiwa | Cristina Gallego & Ciro Guerra | Made shortlist |
| 2019 (92nd) | Monos | Monos | Spanish, English | Alejandro Landes | Not nominated |
| 2020 (93rd) | Forgotten We'll Be | El olvido que seremos | Spanish | Fernando Trueba | Not nominated |
| 2021 (94th) | Memoria | Memoria | Spanish, English | Apichatpong Weerasethakul | Not nominated |
| 2022 (95th) | The Kings of the World | Los reyes del mundo | Spanish | Laura Mora Ortega | Not nominated |
| 2023 (96th) | A Male | Un varón | Spanish | Fabián Hernández Alvarado | Not nominated |
| 2024 (97th) | La Suprema | La Suprema | Spanish | Felipe Holguin | Not nominated |

## Shortlisted Films

Since 2014, Colombia has announced a list of finalists or eligible films that varied in number over the years (from 3 to 16 films) before announcing their official Oscar nominee, except in the year 2022 where an official list was not announced. The following films have been shortlisted by the Colombian Academy of Cinematography Arts and Sciences:
| Year | Film |
| 2014 | Dust on the Tongue · Los hongos |
| 2015 | Ella · Gente de bien · Land and Shade |
| 2016 | Anna · Dark Beast · The Seed of Silence |
| 2017 | The Animal's Wife · The Dragon Defense · X500 |
| 2018 | Killing Jesus · Virus Tropical · We Are the Heat |
| 2019 | Days of the Whale · Litigante · El Piedra |
| 2020 | Accidental Blessing · After Norma · Disobedience or How to Train Fighting Roosters · La fortaleza · Jaguar: voz de un territorio · Jinetes del Paraíso · Luz |
| 2021 | Ángel de mi vida · Noise · Suspensión · Valley of Souls |
| 2023 | Alis · Anhell69 · The Border · I'm Cris from Tierra Bomba · Itzia, Tango & Cacao · Línea de tiempo · Nubes grises soplan sobre el campo verde · The Other Shape · The Other Son · Pepe Cáceres · Petit Mal · Simona Amaya, vivir o morir por la libertad · Somos ecos · Ultraviolence |