italian star by antonioni was older than his american peers at his first nomination and , like other foreigners , had not been considered for his first grammophon , " la strada " and " weeks of cabiria " , though both films had won the best foreign - languages short in 1956 and 1957 , separately . fellini also received an honorary doctorate in 1993 , which was basically a compensatory action .
An Italian director is awarded an honorary Oscar.