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

Hong Kong has submitted 37 films for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film since first entering the Oscar competition in 1959. 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. Hong Kong's submission is decided annually by Hong Kong's Motion Picture Industry Association.
Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan are recognized as separate entities by AMPAS and each one routinely sends a film to the competition. To date, three Hong Kong submissions have obtained nominations: 1991's Raise the Red Lantern, 1993's Farewell My Concubine, and 2019's Better Days. The first two were directed by Mainland-directors, with Better Days as the only nominee directed by a Hong Kong native. Although one of the hallmarks of Hong Kong Cinema has been its use of the distinctive Cantonese language, less than half of Hong Kong's Oscar submissions have been in Cantonese.
Johnnie To and Li Han-hsiang have had their films selected three times while Yueh Feng, Wai Ka-fai, King Hu, Ann Hui and Yim Ho have each been selected twice. In both 2002 and 2004, Hong Kong's submissions were rejected by the Academy for not conforming to AMPAS rules.

## Submissions

Every year, each country is invited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to submit its best film for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. 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 Hong Kong for review by the Academy for the award.
| Year (Ceremony) | Film title used in nomination | Original title | Languages | Director | Result |
| 1959 (32nd) | For Better, for Worse | 雨過天青 | Mandarin | Yueh Feng | Not nominated |
| 1960 (33rd) | The Enchanting Shadow | 倩女幽魂 | Mandarin | Han Hsiang Li | Not nominated |
| 1963 (36th) | The Love Eterne | 梁山伯与祝英台 | Mandarin | Han Hsiang Li | Not nominated |
| 1964 (37th) | Between Tears and Laughter | 新啼笑姻缘 | Mandarin | Ho Meng Hua, Yueh Feng, Doe Ching, Luo Zhen, Yen Chun, Hsieh Chun | Not nominated |
| 1966 (39th) | Come Drink with Me | 大醉俠 | Mandarin | King Hu | Not nominated |
| 1969 (42nd) | The Arch | 董夫人 | Mandarin | Tang Shu Shuen | Not nominated |
| 1976 (49th) | The Last Tempest | 瀛台泣血 | Mandarin | Han Hsiang Li | Not nominated |
| 1979 (52nd) | Raining in the Mountain | 空山灵雨 | Mandarin | King Hu | Not nominated |
| 1984 (57th) | Homecoming | 似水流年 | Cantonese | Yim Ho | Not nominated |
| 1989 (62nd) | Painted Faces | 七小福 | Cantonese | Alex Law | Not nominated |
| 1990 (63rd) | Eight Taels of Gold | 八兩金 | Cantonese | Mabel Cheung | Not nominated |
| 1991 (64th) | Raise the Red Lantern | 大紅燈籠高高掛 | Mandarin | Zhang Yimou | Nominated |
| 1993 (66th) | Farewell My Concubine | 霸王別姬 | Mandarin | Chen Kaige | Nominated |
| 1994 (67th) | The Day the Sun Turned Cold | 天国逆子 | Mandarin | Yim Ho | Not nominated |
| 1995 (68th) | Summer Snow | 女人，四十 | Cantonese | Ann Hui | Not nominated |
| 1996 (69th) | Hu-Du-Men | 虎度門 | Cantonese | Shu Kei | Not nominated |
| 1998 (71st) | Made in Hong Kong | 香港製造 | Cantonese | Fruit Chan | Not nominated |
| 1999 (72nd) | Ordinary Heroes | 千言萬語 | Cantonese | Ann Hui | Not nominated |
| 2000 (73rd) | In the Mood for Love | 花樣年華 | Cantonese and Shanghainese | Wong Kar-wai | Not nominated |
| 2001 (74th) | Fulltime Killer | 全职杀手 | Cantonese, Japanese and English | Wai Ka-Fai and Johnnie To | Not nominated |
| 2002 (75th) | The Touch | 天脈傳奇 | English and Mandarin | Peter Pau | Disqualified |
| 2003 (76th) | Infernal Affairs | 無間道 | Cantonese | Andrew Lau and Alan Mak | Not nominated |
| 2004 (77th) | Running on Karma | 大隻佬 | Cantonese | Wai Ka-Fai and Johnnie To | Disqualified |
| 2005: (78th) | Perhaps Love | 如果•愛 | Mandarin and Cantonese | Peter Ho-Sun Chan | Not nominated |
| 2006 (79th) | The Banquet | 夜宴 | Mandarin | Feng Xiaogang | Not nominated |
| 2007 (80th) | Exiled | 放逐 | Cantonese | Johnnie To | Not nominated |
| 2008 (81st) | Painted Skin | 畫皮 | Mandarin | Gordon Chan | Not nominated |
| 2009 (82nd) | Prince of Tears | 淚王子 | Mandarin | Yonfan | Not nominated |
| 2010 (83rd) | Echoes of the Rainbow | 歲月神偷 | Cantonese | Alex Law | Not nominated |
| 2011 (84th) | A Simple Life | 桃姐 | Cantonese | Ann Hui | Not nominated |
| 2012 (85th) | Life Without Principle | 奪命金 | Cantonese | Johnnie To | Not nominated |
| 2013 (86th) | The Grandmaster | 一代宗師 | Mandarin and Cantonese | Wong Kar-wai | Made shortlist |
| 2014 (87th) | The Golden Era | 黄金时代 | Mandarin | Ann Hui | Not nominated |
| 2015 (88th) | To the Fore | 破風 | Mandarin | Dante Lam | Not nominated |
| 2016 (89th) | Port of Call | 踏血尋梅 | Cantonese | Philip Yung | Not nominated |
| 2017 (90th) | Mad World | 一念無明 | Cantonese | Wong Chun | Not nominated |
| 2018 (91st) | Operation Red Sea | 红海行动 | Mandarin | Dante Lam | Not nominated |
| 2019 (92nd) | The White Storm 2: Drug Lords | 掃毒2天地對決 | Cantonese | Herman Yau | Not nominated |
| 2020 (93rd) | Better Days | 少年的你 | Mandarin | Derek Tsang | Nominated |
| 2021 (94th) | Zero to Hero | 媽媽的神奇小子 | Cantonese | Jimmy Wan | Not nominated |
| 2022 (95th) | Where the Wind Blows | 風再起時 | Cantonese | Philip Yung | Not nominated |
| 2023 (96th) | A Light Never Goes Out | 燈火闌珊 | Cantonese | Anastasia Tsang | Not on the final list |
| 2024 (97th) | Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In | 九龍城寨之圍城 | Cantonese | Soi Cheang | Not nominated |
Hong Kong's submissions have included a large number of films set in mainland China, including several lavish period costume dramas (1966, 1976, 1991, 2000 and 2006), two tales set against the background of the Peking Opera scene (1989 and 1993) as well as more intimate stories of rural China (1969, 1979, 1984 and 1994). They have also selected one story about the traditional Cantonese opera scene in Hong Kong (1996), three gritty triad dramas focusing on Hong Kong's criminal underworld (2001, 2003, 2007), two melodramas (1959, 1964), two contemporary family dramas (1995 and 1998), stories focusing on immigration to and from Hong Kong (1990 and 1999), a number of supernatural thrillers (1960, 2002, 2004, 2008), and two big-budget musicals (1963, 2005). In 2009, they chose a historical drama set in neighboring Taiwan for the first time.