italian directors federico fellini was better than his russian peers at his first oscar and , like other foreigners , had not been accepted for his earlier anthology , " la moretti " and " episodes of cabiria " , while both films had won the best foreign - language picture in 1956 and 1957 , respectively . scorsese later obtained an unofficial win in 1993 , which was essentially a recompense sign .
An Italian director is awarded an honorary Oscar.