# Independent Spirit Award for Best International Film

The Independent Spirit Award for Best International Film is an award presented annually at the Independent Spirit Awards to recognize the best feature films produced outside United States. It was first presented in 1986, with Brazilian-American drama Kiss of the Spider Woman being the first recipient of the award.

## Winners and nominees
### 1980s

| Year | Film | Original Title | Director | Country |
| 1985 | Kiss of the Spider Woman | O Beijo da Mulher Aranha | Héctor Babenco | Brazil, United States |
| 1985 | Dreamchild | Dreamchild | Gavin Millar | United Kingdom |
| 1985 | The Hit | The Hit | Stephen Frears | United Kingdom |
| 1985 | Ran | 乱 | Akira Kurosawa | Japan |
| 1986 | A Room with a View | A Room with a View | James Ivory | United Kingdom |
| 1986 | Men… | Männer… | Doris Dörrie | West Germany |
| 1986 | 28 Up | 28 Up | Michael Apted | United Kingdom |
| 1986 | Mona Lisa | Mona Lisa | Neil Jordan | United Kingdom |
| 1986 | My Beautiful Laundrette | My Beautiful Laundrette | Stephen Frears | United Kingdom |
| 1987 | My Life as a Dog | Mitt liv som hund | Lasse Hallström | Sweden |
| 1987 | Au revoir les enfants | Au revoir les enfants | Louis Malle | France, West Germany |
| 1987 | Hope and Glory | Hope and Glory | John Boorman | United Kingdom |
| 1987 | Prick Up Your Ears | Prick Up Your Ears | Stephen Frears | United Kingdom |
| 1987 | Tampopo | タンポポ | Juzo Itami | Japan |
| 1988 | Wings of Desire | Der Himmel über Berlin | Wim Wenders | West Germany |
| 1988 | The Kitchen Toto | The Kitchen Toto | Harry Hook | United Kingdom |
| 1988 | Bagdad Café | Bagdad Café | Percy Adlon | West Germany |
| 1988 | A World Apart | A World Apart | Chris Menges | United Kingdom, Zimbabwe |
| 1988 | Yeelen | Yeelen | Souleymane Cissé | Mali |
| 1989 | My Left Foot | My Left Foot | Jim Sheridan | Ireland, United Kingdom |
| 1989 | Hanussen | Hanussen | István Szabó | Hungary |
| 1989 | Distant Voices, Still Lives | Distant Voices, Still Lives | Terence Davies | United Kingdom |
| 1989 | High Hopes | High Hopes | Mike Leigh | United Kingdom |
| 1989 | Rouge | 胭脂扣 | Stanley Kwan | Hong Kong |

### 1990s

| Year | Film | Original Title | Director | Country |
| 1990 | Sweetie | Sweetie | Jane Campion | Australia |
| 1990 | Black Rain | 黒い雨 | Shohei Imamura | Japan |
| 1990 | A City of Sadness | 悲情城市 | Hou Hsiao-hsien | Taiwan |
| 1990 | The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover | The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover | Peter Greenaway | France, United Kingdom |
| 1990 | Freeze Die Come to Life | Замри, умри, воскресни | Vitali Kanevsky | Soviet Union |
| 1991 | An Angel at My Table | An Angel at My Table | Jane Campion | New Zealand, United Kingdom, Australia |
| 1991 | The Double Life of Véronique | La double vie de Véronique | Krzysztof Kieślowski | France, Poland |
| 1991 | Life is Sweet | Life is Sweet | Mike Leigh | United Kingdom |
| 1991 | Requiem for Dominic | Requiem für Dominik | Robert Dornhelm | Austria, France, Romania |
| 1991 | Taxi Blues | Такси-блюз | Pavel Lungin | Soviet Union |
| 1992 | The Crying Game | The Crying Game | Neil Jordan | United Kingdom |
| 1992 | Close to Eden | Урга | Nikita Mikhalkov | Soviet Union |
| 1992 | Danzon | Danzon | Maria Novaro | Mexico, Spain |
| 1992 | Howards End | Howards End | James Ivory | United Kingdom |
| 1992 | Raise the Red Lantern | 大红灯笼高高挂 | Zhang Yimou | China, Hong Kong, Taiwan |
| 1993 | The Piano | The Piano | Jane Campion | Australia |
| 1993 | Naked | Naked | Mike Leigh | United Kingdom |
| 1993 | Orlando | Orlando | Sally Potter | United Kingdom |
| 1993 | Like Water for Chocolate | Como agua para chocolate | Alfonso Arau | Mexico |
| 1993 | The Story of Qiu Ju | 秋菊打官司 | Zhang Yimou | China, Hong Kong |
| 1994 | Three Colors: Red | Trois couleurs: Rouge | Krzysztof Kieślowski | France, Poland |
| 1994 | The Blue Kite | 蓝风筝 | Tian Zhuangzhuang | China, Hong Kong |
| 1994 | Ladybird, Ladybird | Ladybird, Ladybird | Ken Loach | United Kingdom |
| 1994 | The Boys of St. Vincent | The Boys of St. Vincent | John N. Smith | Canada |
| 1994 | Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould | Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould | François Girard | Canada |
| 1995 | Before the Rain | Pred doždot | Milcho Manchevski | Macedonia, United Kingdom |
| 1995 | The City of Lost Children | La cité des enfants perdus | Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet | France |
| 1995 | Exotica | Exotica | Atom Egoyan | Canada |
| 1995 | I Am Cuba (1964) | Soy Cuba | Mikhail Kalatozov | Cuba, Soviet Union |
| 1995 | Through the Olive Trees | زیر درختان زیتون | Abbas Kiarostami | Iran |
| 1996 | Secrets & Lies | Secrets & Lies | Mike Leigh | United Kingdom |
| 1996 | Breaking the Waves | Breaking the Waves | Lars von Trier | Denmark |
| 1996 | Chungking Express | 重庆森林 | Wong Kar-wai | Hong Kong |
| 1996 | Lamerica | Lamerica | Gianni Amelio | Italy |
| 1996 | Trainspotting | Trainspotting | Danny Boyle | United Kingdom |
| 1997 | The Sweet Hereafter | The Sweet Hereafter | Atom Egoyan | Canada |
| 1997 | Happy Together | 春光乍泄 | Wong Kar-wai | Hong Kong |
| 1997 | Mouth to Mouth | Boca a boca | Manuel Gómez Pereira | Spain |
| 1997 | Nenette and Boni | Nénette et Boni | Claire Denis | France |
| 1997 | Underground | Podzemlje | Emir Kusturica | FR Yugoslavia, France, Germany |
| 1998 | The Celebration | Festen | Thomas Vinterberg | Denmark |
| 1998 | Central Station | Central do Brasil | Walter Salles | Brazil |
| 1998 | The Eel | うなぎ | Shohei Imamura | Japan |
| 1998 | The General | The General | John Boorman | Ireland, United Kingdom |
| 1998 | Fireworks | はなび | Takeshi Kitano | Japan |
| 1999 | Run Lola Run | Lola rennt | Tom Tykwer | Germany |
| 1999 | All About My Mother | Todo sobre mi madre | Pedro Almodóvar | Spain |
| 1999 | My Son the Fanatic | My Son the Fanatic | Udayan Prasad | United Kingdom |
| 1999 | Topsy-Turvy | Topsy-Turvy | Mike Leigh | United Kingdom |
| 1999 | Rosetta | Rosetta | Dardenne brothers | Belgium, France |

### 2000s

| Year | Film | Original Title | Director | Country |
| 2000 | Dancer in the Dark | Danser i mørket | Lars von Trier | Denmark |
| 2000 | In the Mood for Love | 花样年华 | Wong Kar-wai | France, Hong Kong |
| 2000 | Malli | Malli | Santosh Sivan | India |
| 2000 | A Time for Drunken Horses | زمانی برای مستی اسب‌ها | Bahman Ghobadi | Iran |
| 2000 | The War Zone | The War Zone | Tim Roth | United Kingdom |
| 2001 | Amélie | Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain | Jean-Pierre Jeunet | France |
| 2001 | Amores perros | Amores perros | Alejandro González Iñárritu | Mexico |
| 2001 | Lumumba | Lumumba | Raoul Peck | Belgium, France, Germany, Haiti |
| 2001 | Sexy Beast | Sexy Beast | Jonathan Glazer | United Kingdom, Spain |
| 2001 | Together | Tillsammans | Lukas Moodysson | Sweden, Denmark, Italy |
| 2002 | Y Tu Mamá También | Y Tu Mamá También | Alfonso Cuarón | Mexico |
| 2002 | Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner | Atanarjuat | Zacharias Kunuk | Canada |
| 2002 | Time Out | L'emploi du temps | Laurent Cantet | France |
| 2002 | The Piano Teacher | La pianiste | Michael Haneke | France |
| 2002 | Bloody Sunday | Bloody Sunday | Paul Greengrass | Ireland, United Kingdom |
| 2003 | Whale Rider | Whale Rider | Niki Caro | New Zealand, Germany |
| 2003 | City of God | Cidade de Deus | Fernando Meirelles | Brazil |
| 2003 | Lilya 4-Ever | Lilja 4-ever | Lukas Moodysson | Denmark |
| 2003 | The Magdalene Sisters | The Magdalene Sisters | Peter Mullan | United Kingdom, Ireland |
| 2003 | The Triplets of Belleville | Les triplettes de Belleville | Sylvain Chomet | France, Canada, Belgium |
| 2004 | The Sea Inside | Mar Adentro | Alejandro Amenabar | Spain |
| 2004 | Oasis | 오아시스 | Lee Chang-dong | South Korea |
| 2004 | Bad Education | La mala educación | Pedro Almodóvar | Spain |
| 2004 | Red Lights | Feux rouges | Cédric Kahn | France |
| 2004 | Yesterday | Yesterday | Darrell Roodt | South Africa |
| 2005 | Paradise Now | Paradise Now | Hany Abu-Assad | Palestine, Netherlands, Germany, France |
| 2005 | The Death of Mr. Lazarescu | Moartea domnului Lazarescu | Cristi Puiu | Romania |
| 2005 | Duck Season | Temporada de patos | Fernando Eimbcke | Mexico |
| 2005 | Head-On | Gegen die Wand | Fatih Akın | Germany, Turkey |
| 2005 | Tony Takitani | トニー滝谷 | Jun Ichikawa | Japan |
| 2006 | The Lives of Others | Das Leben der Anderen | Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck | Germany |
| 2006 | 12:08 East of Bucharest | A fost sau n-a fost? | Corneliu Porumboiu | Romania |
| 2006 | The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros | Ang pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros | Auraeus Solito | Philippines |
| 2006 | Chronicle of an Escape | Crónica de una fuga | Israel Adrián Caetano | Argentina |
| 2006 | Days of Glory | Indigènes | Rachid Bouchareb | France, Morocco, Algeria, Belgium, Japan |
| 2007 | Once | Once | John Carney | Ireland |
| 2007 | 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days | 4 luni, 3 săptămâni şi 2 zile | Cristian Mungiu | Romania |
| 2007 | The Band's Visit | ביקור התזמורת | Eran Kolirin | France, Israel, United States |
| 2007 | Persepolis | Persepolis | Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud | France |
| 2007 | Lady Chatterley | Lady Chatterley | Pascale Ferran | Belgium, France |
| 2008 | The Class | Entre les murs | Laurent Cantet | France |
| 2008 | Gomorrah | Gomorra | Matteo Garrone | Italy |
| 2008 | The Secret of the Grain | La graine et le mulet | Abdellatif Kechiche | France |
| 2008 | Hunger | Hunger | Steve McQueen | Ireland, United Kingdom |
| 2008 | Silent Light | Stellet licht | Carlos Reygadas | France, Germany, Netherlands, Mexico |
| 2009 | An Education | An Education | Lone Scherfig | United Kingdom |
| 2009 | Everlasting Moments | Maria Larssons eviga ögonblick | Jan Troell | Sweden |
| 2009 | The Maid | La nana | Sebastián Silva | Chile |
| 2009 | Mother | 마더 | Bong Joon-ho | South Korea |
| 2009 | A Prophet | Un prophète | Jacques Audiard | France |

### 2010s

| Year | Film | Original Title | Director | Country |
| 2010 | The King's Speech | The King's Speech | Tom Hooper | United Kingdom |
| 2010 | Kisses | Kisses | Lance Daly | Ireland |
| 2010 | Mademoiselle Chambon | Mademoiselle Chambon | Stéphane Brizé | France |
| 2010 | Of Gods and Men | Des hommes et des dieux | Xavier Beauvois | Morocco, France |
| 2010 | Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives | ลุงบุญมีระลึกชาติ | Apichatpong Weerasethakul | Thailand |
| 2011 | A Separation | جدایی نادر از سیمین | Asghar Farhadi | Iran |
| 2011 | The Kid with a Bike | Le gamin au vélo | Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne | Belgium |
| 2011 | Shame | Shame | Steve McQueen | United Kingdom |
| 2011 | Tyrannosaur | Tyrannosaur | Paddy Considine | United Kingdom |
| 2011 | Melancholia | Melancholia | Lars von Trier | Denmark |
| 2012 | Amour | Amour | Michael Haneke | Austria, France, Germany |
| 2012 | Once Upon a Time in Anatolia | Bir zamanlar Anadolu'da | Nuri Bilge Ceylan | Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 2012 | Rust and Bone | De rouille et d'os | Jacques Audiard | France, Belgium |
| 2012 | War Witch | Rebelle | Kim Nguyen | Canada |
| 2012 | Sister | L'enfant d'en haut | Ursula Meier | France, Switzerland |
| 2013 | Blue Is the Warmest Colour | La vie d'Adèle | Abdellatif Kechiche | France |
| 2013 | Gloria | Gloria | Sebastian Lelio | Chile |
| 2013 | The Great Beauty | La grande bellezza | Paolo Sorrentino | Italy |
| 2013 | The Hunt | Jagten | Thomas Vinterberg | Denmark |
| 2013 | A Touch of Sin | 天注定 | Jia Zhangke | China |
| 2014 | Ida | Ida | Paweł Pawlikowski | Poland |
| 2014 | Force Majeure | Turist | Ruben Östlund | Sweden |
| 2014 | Leviathan | Левиафан | Andrey Zvyagintsev | Russia |
| 2014 | Mommy | Mommy | Xavier Dolan | Canada |
| 2014 | Norte, the End of History | Norte, hangganan ng kasaysayan | Lav Diaz | Philippines |
| 2014 | Under the Skin | Under the Skin | Jonathan Glazer | United Kingdom |
| 2015 | Son of Saul | Saul Fia | László Nemes | Hungary |
| 2015 | Embrace of the Serpent | El abrazo de la serpiente | Ciro Guerra | Colombia |
| 2015 | Girlhood | Bande de fillies | Céline Sciamma | France |
| 2015 | A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence | En duva satt på en gren och funderade på tillvaron | Roy Andersson | Sweden |
| 2015 | Mustang | Mustang | Deniz Gamze Ergüven | France, Turkey |
| 2016 | Toni Erdmann | Toni Erdmann | Maren Ade | Germany, Romania |
| 2016 | Aquarius | Aquarius | Kleber Mendonça Filho | Brazil |
| 2016 | Chevalier | Chevalier | Athina Rachel Tsangari | Greece |
| 2016 | My Golden Days | Trois souvenirs de ma jeunesse | Arnaud Desplechin | France |
| 2016 | Under the Shadow | زیر سایه | Babak Anvari | Iran, United Kingdom |
| 2017 | A Fantastic Woman | Una mujer fantástica | Sebastián Lelio | Chile |
| 2017 | 120 Beats Per Minute | 120 battements par minute | Robin Campillo | France |
| 2017 | I Am Not a Witch | I Am Not a Witch | Rungano Nyoni | United Kingdom |
| 2017 | Lady Macbeth | Lady Macbeth | William Oldroyd | United Kingdom |
| 2017 | Loveless | Нелюбовь | Andrey Zvyagintsev | Russia |
| 2018 | Roma | Roma | Alfonso Cuarón | Mexico |
| 2018 | Burning | 버닝 | Lee Chang-dong | South Korea |
| 2018 | Happy as Lazzaro | Lazzaro felice | Alice Rohrwacher | Italy |
| 2018 | The Favourite | The Favourite | Yorgos Lanthimos | United Kingdom |
| 2018 | Shoplifters | 万引き家族 | Hirokazu Kore-eda | Japan |
| 2019 | Parasite | 기생충 | Bong Joon-ho | South Korea |
| 2019 | The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão | A Vida Invisível de Eurídice Gusmão | Karim Aïnouz | Brazil |
| 2019 | Les Misérables | Les Misérables | Ladj Ly | France |
| 2019 | Portrait of a Lady on Fire | Portrait de la jeune fille en feu | Céline Sciamma | France |
| 2019 | Retablo | Retablo | Alvaro Delgado-Aparicio | Peru |
| 2019 | The Souvenir | The Souvenir | Joanna Hogg | United Kingdom |

### 2020s

| Year | Film | Original Title | Director | Country |
| 2020 | Quo Vadis, Aida? | Quo Vadis, Aida? | Jasmila Žbanić | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 2020 | Bacurau | Bacurau | Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles | Brazil |
| 2020 | The Disciple | The Disciple | Chaitanya Tamhane | India |
| 2020 | Night of the Kings | La Nuit des rois | Philippe Lacôte | Ivory Coast |
| 2020 | Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time | Felkészülés meghatározatlan ideig tartó együttlétre | Lili Horvát | Hungary |
| 2021 | Drive My Car | ドライブ・マイ・カー | Ryusuke Hamaguchi | Japan |
| 2021 | Compartment No. 6 | Hytti nro 6 / Купе номер шесть | Juho Kuosmanen | Finland and Russia |
| 2021 | Parallel Mothers | Madres Paralelas | Pedro Almodóvar | Spain |
| 2021 | Pebbles | கூழாங்கல் | P.S. Vinothraj | India |
| 2021 | Petite Maman | Petite Maman | Céline Sciamma | France |
| 2021 | Prayers for the Stolen | Noche de fuego | Tatiana Huezo | Mexico |
| 2022 | Joyland | Joyland | Saim Sadiq | Pakistan, United States |
| 2022 | Corsage | Corsage | Marie Kreutzer | Austria, Luxembourg, France, Italy, United Kingdom |
| 2022 | Leonor Will Never Die | Leonor Will Never Die | Martika Ramirez Escobar | Philippines |
| 2022 | Return to Seoul | Retour à Séoul | Davy Chou | South Korea, France, Belgium, Romania |
| 2022 | Saint Omer | Saint Omer | Alice Diop | France |
| 2023 | Anatomy of a Fall | Anatomie d'une chute | Justine Triet | France |
| 2023 | Godland | Volaða land / Vanskabte Land | Hlynur Pálmason | Denmark, Iceland |
| 2023 | Mami Wata | Mami Wata | C.J. Obasi | Nigeria, France, United Kingdom |
| 2023 | Tótem | Tótem | Lila Avilés | Mexico, Denmark, France |
| 2023 | The Zone of Interest | The Zone of Interest | Jonathan Glazer | United Kingdom, Poland, United States |
| 2024 | Flow | Straume | Gints Zilbalodis | Latvia, France, Belgium |
| 2024 | All We Imagine as Light | All We Imagine as Light | Payal Kapadia | France, India, Netherlands, Luxembourg |
| 2024 | Black Dog | 狗阵 | Guan Hu | China |
| 2024 | Green Border | Zielona granica | Agnieszka Holland | Poland, France, Czech Republic, Belgium |
| 2024 | Hard Truths | Hard Truths | Mike Leigh | United Kingdom, Spain |