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

Greece has submitted films for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. 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. It was created for the 1956 Academy Awards, in which a competitive Academy Award of Merit, known as the Best Foreign Language Film Award, was created for non-English speaking films, and has been given annually since.
For the 78th Academy Awards, Greece selected Nyfes but it was ruled ineligible for being in English.
In the 1990s, Greek film law stipulated that the winner of the Greek Film Competition at the Thessaloniki Film Festival would represent Greece at the Oscars the following year. After Greek films that were mostly in English (and thus ineligible for the Foreign Language Film award) won the award in 2005 and 2007, Greece decided to revise the selection process. Beginning in 2008, the Greek submission is determined by an ad hoc committee appointed under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Culture. The first film to be selected under the new rules was Correction, since El Greco contained too much English to qualify.

## 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 Greece for review by the Academy for the award by the year of the submission and the respective Academy Award ceremony.
| Year (Ceremony) | Film title used in nomination | Original title | Director | Result |
| 1957 (30th) | The Lagoon of Desire | Η λίμνη των πόθων | Giorgos Zervos | Not nominated |
| 1962 (35th) | Electra | Ηλέκτρα | Michael Cacoyannis | Nominated |
| 1963 (36th) | The Red Lanterns | Τα κόκκινα φανάρια | Vasilis Georgiadis | Nominated |
| 1964 (37th) | Treason | Προδοσία | Kostas Manoussakis | Not nominated |
| 1965 (38th) | Blood on the Land | Το χώμα βάφτηκε κόκκινο | Vasilis Georgiadis | Nominated |
| 1966 (39th) | Queen of Clubs | Ντάμα σπαθί | George Skalenakis | Not nominated |
| 1968 (41st) | Imperiale | Βυζαντινή Ραψωδία | George Skalenakis | Not nominated |
| 1969 (42nd) | Girls in the Sun | Κορίτσια στον Ήλιο | Vasilis Georgiadis | Not nominated |
| 1975 (48th) | The Travelling Players | Ο Θίασος | Theo Angelopoulos | Not nominated |
| 1977 (50th) | Iphigenia | Iφιγένεια | Michael Cacoyannis | Nominated |
| 1981 (54th) | The Man with the Carnation | Ο άνθρωπος με το γαρίφαλο | Nikos Tzimas | Not nominated |
| 1982 (55th) | Angel | Άγγελος | Giorgos Katakouzinos | Not nominated |
| 1987 (60th) | Theofilos | Θεόφιλος | Lakis Papastathis | Not nominated |
| 1988 (61st) | In the Shadow of Fear | Στη σκιά του τρόμου | Yiorgos Karypidis | Not nominated |
| 1989 (62nd) | Landscape in the Mist | Τοπίο στην ομίχλη | Theo Angelopoulos | Not nominated |
| 1990 (63rd) | Love Under the Date-Tree | Έρωτας στη χουρμαδιά | Stavros Tsiolis | Not nominated |
| 1995 (68th) | Ulysses' Gaze | Το Βλέμμα του Οδυσσέα | Theo Angelopoulos | Not nominated |
| 1997 (70th) | Slaughter of the Cock | Η Σφαγή του Κόκορα | Andreas Pantzis | Not nominated |
| 1998 (71st) | Eternity and a Day | Μια αιωνιότητα και μια μέρα | Theo Angelopoulos | Not nominated |
| 1999 (72nd) | From the Edge of the City | Από την άκρη της πόλης | Constantinos Giannaris | Not nominated |
| 2000 (73rd) | Peppermint | Peppermint | Costas Kapakas | Not nominated |
| 2001 (74th) | In Good Company | Ένας κι ένας | Nikos Zapatinas | Not nominated |
| 2002 (75th) | The Only Journey of His Life | Το μόνον της ζωής του ταξείδιον | Lakis Papastathis | Not nominated |
| 2003 (76th) | Think It Over | Θα το Μετανιώσεις | Katerina Evangelakou | Not nominated |
| 2004 (77th) | A Touch of Spice | Πολίτικη Κουζίνα | Tassos Boulmetis | Not nominated |
| 2006 (79th) | Chariton's Choir | Η χωρωδία του Χαρίτωνα | Grigoris Karantinakis | Not nominated |
| 2007 (80th) | Eduart | Eduart | Angeliki Antoniou | Not nominated |
| 2008 (81st) | Correction | Διόρθωση | Thanos Anastopoulos | Not nominated |
| 2009 (82nd) | Slaves in Their Bonds | Οι Σκλάβοι στα Δεσμά τους | Adonis Lykouresis | Not nominated |
| 2010 (83rd) | Dogtooth | Κυνόδοντας | Yorgos Lanthimos | Nominated |
| 2011 (84th) | Attenberg | Attenberg | Athina Rachel Tsangari | Not nominated |
| 2012 (85th) | Unfair World | Άδικος Κόσμος | Filippos Tsitos | Not nominated |
| 2013 (86th) | Boy Eating the Bird's Food | Το Αγόρι Τρώει το Φαγητό του Πουλιού | Ektoras Lygizos | Not nominated |
| 2014 (87th) | Little England | Μικρά Αγγλία | Pantelis Voulgaris | Not nominated |
| 2015 (88th) | Xenia | Ξενία | Panos H. Koutras | Not nominated |
| 2016 (89th) | Chevalier | Chevalier | Athina Rachel Tsangari | Not nominated |
| 2017 (90th) | Amerika Square | Amerika Square | Yannis Sakaridis | Not nominated |
| 2018 (91st) | Polyxeni | Πολυξένη | Dora Masklavanou | Not nominated |
| 2019 (92nd) | When Tomatoes Met Wagner | Όταν ο Βάγκνερ Συνάντησε τις Ντομάτες | Marianna Economou | Not nominated |
| 2020 (93rd) | Apples | Μήλα | Christos Nikou | Not nominated |
| 2021 (94th) | Digger | Digger | Georgis Grigorakis | Not nominated |
| 2022 (95th) | Magnetic Fields | Μαγνητικά Πεδία | Yorgos Gousis | Not nominated |
| 2023 (96th) | Behind the Haystacks | Πίσω από τις θημωνιές | Asimina Proedrou | Not nominated |
| 2024 (97th) | Murderess | Φόνισσα | Eva Nathena | Not nominated |

## 2024 Greek Academy Awards Submission Scandal

In August 2024, a significant controversy erupted within the Greek film industry regarding the selection process for the country's submission to the 97th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film. The scandal involved accusations of interference by the Greek Culture Ministry in the selection committee's work, leading to widespread protests from filmmakers and industry organizations.
The controversy began when acclaimed Greek filmmaker Vasilis Kekatos, a winner of the Short Film Palme d'Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, publicly claimed on Facebook that he and other members of the pre-selection committee had been abruptly replaced by the ministry. Despite having been provided with codes and passwords to watch and rate the submitted Greek films, Kekatos alleged that the ministry had intervened to appoint a different committee.The Greek Culture Ministry responded to these allegations by denying that Kekatos and the other individuals mentioned in his post were ever officially chosen for the committee. The ministry asserted that the official committee members had been announced through its official channels on August 13, 2024.
The scandal had a significant impact on the submission process. In protest of the ministry's actions, 21 out of 26 films that had submitted their files withdrew from consideration, and two members of the newly appointed committee resigned. Additionally, local film organizations, unions, and the Hellenic Film Academy issued public statements demanding an investigation into the matter.
Furthermore, one of the newly appointed committee members, film critic Dimitris Danikas, faced additional scrutiny, as he had been expelled from the Hellenic Film Academy due to publications deemed inconsistent with the Academy's moral standards.
Following these events, Greek Deputy Culture Minister Jason Fotilas held a press conference on August 22, 2024, where he claimed that a Culture Ministry employee had taken the initiative to contact Kekatos and the other committee members on an unofficial list from the ministry’s Directorate of Cinema and Performance Arts, before the Deputy Minister had officially accepted it.
According to Fotilas, “the employee apologized and said he acted out of overzealousness so that the procedures would run faster and we could save time," since the Academy’s August 15, 2024, deadline was fast approaching, and the Deputy Minister’s official approval was only a formality.
Although several media questions remained unanswered during the press conference, Fotilas stated that he was open to discussions with the Hellenic Film Academy to find a solution that would secure the validity of the procedure, even though the Academy had complained that it had been trying for months to get an appointment with him to discuss the current selection process and other industry issues.
Following the press conference, the Academy issued a statement asking the Deputy Culture Minister to consider the complete cancellation of the procedure and the non-submission of a proposal by our country for this year's Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
The 2024 Greek Academy Awards submission scandal, which garnered international film media coverage, raised concerns about the transparency and fairness of the selection process. Critics argued that the government's involvement had compromised the independence of the committee and undermined the credibility of the Greek submission. The controversy also highlighted the need for reforms to ensure a more equitable and transparent system for future submissions.