List of Philippine submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film

History

The Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) appoints a committee to choose one film among those released that year to be submitted as the Philippines's official entry to the Academy for a nomination for "Best International Feature Film" the following year. The chosen films, along with their English subtitles, are sent to the Academy, where they are screened for the jury. The 1950 biopic Genghis Khan was the first and only Philippine film submitted for consideration for the Honorary Foreign Language Film award, the precursor to the current category, but no award was given to the film or any non-English language films at this feat.

From 1956 until the establishment of the FAP in 1981, only four films were submitted for consideration: Child of Sorrow (1956), The Moises Padilla Story (1961), Because of a Flower (1967), and Ganito Kami Noon... Paano Kayo Ngayon? (1976). After the FAP was founded, the Philippines submitted Of the Flesh in 1984 and This Is My Country in 1985, but made no further submissions until 1995's Harvest Home. Since then, the FAP has submitted a film in most years. No film was submitted in 2005; Leo Martinez, the director general of the FAP, revealed that the organization had not received an invitation from the Academy. In 2021, the FAP controversially chose not to send an entry as they lacked government funding due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Filmmakers and actors have each represented the Philippines more than once in this category:

• Marilou Diaz-Abaya and Gil Portes submitted three times, the most for any director, and including two consecutive films each: Diaz Abaya in 1997 and 1998, and Portes in 2001 and 2002.
• Brillante Mendoza, a recipient of the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director, directed the 2016 and 2020 submissions. Lav Diaz, a recipient of the Venice Film Festival Award for Golden Lion and Locarno Film Festival Award for Golden Leopard, also directed the 2014 and 2025 submissions, the latter marks the first time for an international co-produced film with international cast and crew.
• Three films starring John Arcilla have been submitted by the Philippines.For films starring John Arcilla that were submitted as Philippine entries:
• Heneral Luna (2015):
• Birdshot (2017):
• On the Job: The Missing 8 (2021) Joel Torre has co-starred in three films that were entries in 1984, 1985, and 2000.For films co-starring Joel Torre that were submitted as Philippine entries:
• Of the Flesh (1984):
• Milagros (1997):
• Anak (2000):
• Two of Judy Ann Santos's films, including Ploning (2008), which she produced and starred in, have been submitted.For films starring Judy Ann Santos that were submitted as Philippine entries:
• Ploning (2008):
• Mindanao (2019): Angel Aquino, Sid Lucero, Phillip Salvador, Vilma Santos, and Jomari Yllana have each represented the Philippines twice as actors in the category.For films starring Angel Aquino that were submitted as Philippine entries:
• Crying Ladies (2003):
• Donsol (2006): For films starring Sid Lucero that were submitted as Philippine entries:
• Donsol (2006):
• Norte, the End of History (2014): For films starring Phillip Salvador that were submitted as Philippine entries:
• Of the Flesh (1984):
• This Is My Country (1985): For films starring Vilma Santos that were submitted as Philippine entries:
• Anak (2000):
• Dekada '70 (2002): For films starring Jomari Yllana that were submitted as Philippine entries:
• In the Navel of the Sea (1998):
• In the Bosom of the Enemy (2001):

Carl Joseph Papa's The Missing and 's And So It Begins marked the first animated and documentary films, respectively, to be submitted as the Philippine entry in two consecutive years.

Submissions

Shortlisted films

Each year since 2012, the Film Academy of the Philippines has announced shortlists prior to announcing the official candidate to the Academy Awards. The following films were shortlisted by the Philippines but not selected as the final candidate:

Notes

References

References

1. (April 23, 2019). "Academy announces rules for 92nd Oscars". [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]].
2. (April 24, 2019). "Academy Announces Rule Changes For 92nd Oscars". [[Forbes (magazine).
3. "History of the Academy Awards – Page 2". [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]].
4. "Rule Thirteen: Special Rules for the Foreign Language Film Award". [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]].
5. "History of the Academy Awards – Page 1". [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]].
6. (December 22, 2021). "The Philippines doesn't have an Oscar entry. Now what?". [[Rappler]].
7. (January 23, 2004). "The Philippine's Submission for Best Foreign Language Film (Academy Award)". [[University of California, Los Angeles.
8. Jaucian, Don. (23 February 2013). "Will the Philippines ever win an Oscar?". [[The Philippine Star]].
9. (March 5, 2018). "All The Filipino Entries to The Oscars Through The Years". [[Esquire (magazine).
10. (October 28, 2005). "No RP entry in Oscars?". [[Philippine Daily Inquirer]].
11. (December 17, 2021). "No PH entry to 2022 Oscars: Irked filmmakers want FAP to explain why". [[Philippine Daily Inquirer]].
12. (October 16, 2021). "Brillante Mendoza's ''Gensan Punch'' wins at 26th Busan Int'l Film Festival". [[The Philippine Star]].
13. (September 30, 2013). "A UK film of John Arcilla makes it to Oscar derby". [[Yahoo! News]].
14. "International Oscar Race: The Philippines Selects Gay Animation Film 'The Missing'". Variety.
15. (September 26, 2018). "Chito Roño's movie ''Signal Rock'' is PH entry to Oscars 2019". [[CNN Philippines]].
16. (September 19, 2019). "Oscars: Philippines Selects ''Verdict'' for International Feature Film Category". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
17. (November 24, 2020). "The Philippines Picks ''Mindanao'' for Oscars Foreign Film Category". [[Variety (magazine).
18. (September 30, 2022). "''On the Job: The Missing 8'' is PH entry to Oscars". [[ABS-CBN Entertainment]].
19. (September 29, 2023). "''Iti Mapukpukaw'' is PH's official entry to Oscars 2024". [[The Philippine Star]].
20. Evangelista, Jessica Ann. (2024-09-25). "'And So It Begins' is PH entry at Oscars for best international feature film". [[Philippine Daily Inquirer.
21. Mallorca, Hannah. (2025-09-01). "Lav Diaz's 'Magellan' is PH entry for Best International Feature Film at 2025 Oscars".
22. Poon, Mara D. Cepeda, Billy B.. (2012-10-29). "Yapan film shortlisted as PH Oscar entry".
23. Dacanay, Aimee. "Here are the nine films shortlisted for the Philippines' entry to the Oscars".
24. Frater, Patrick. (2017-09-26). "Philippines Lands on 'Birdshot' as Academy Awards Selection".