Nepal is among over one hundred countries that have submitted films for consideration for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. [nb 1] Nepal made its first submission in 1999. The Foreign Language Film 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. [3] As of 2019 [update] , eleven Nepalese films have been submitted for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Nepal's initial submission, Caravan, was nominated for an Oscar.
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. [3] Below is a list of the films that have been submitted by Nepal for review by the Academy for the award by year and the respective Academy Awards ceremony.
Caravan was filmed in Dolpali language much similar to the Tibetan, while Basain, Mask of Desire and Muna Madan were filmed in Nepali.
| Year (Ceremony) | Film title used in nomination | Original title | Director | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 (72nd) | Himalaya/Caravan | हिमालय | Eric Valli | Nominated |
| 2000 (73rd) | Mask of Desire | मुकुण्डो | Tsering Rhitar Sherpa | Not nominated |
| 2003 (76th) | Muna Madan | मुनामदन | Gyanendra Bahadur Deuja | Not nominated |
| 2006 (79th) | Basain | बसाई | Subash Gajurel | Not nominated |
| 2013 (86th) | Soongava: Dance of the Orchids [4] | सुनगाभा | Subarna Thapa | Not nominated |
| 2014 (87th) | Jhola [5] | झोला | Yadavkumar Bhattarai | Not nominated |
| 2015 (88th) | Talakjung vs Tulke [6] | टलकजंग भर्सेस टुल्के | Nischal Basnet | Not nominated |
| 2016 (89th) | The Black Hen [7] | कालो पोथी | Min Bahadur Bham | Not nominated |
| 2017 (90th) | White Sun [8] | सेतो सुर्य | Deepak Rauniyar | Not nominated |
| 2018 (91st) | Panchayat [9] | पंचायत | Shivam Adhikari | Not nominated |
| 2019 (92nd) | Bulbul [10] | बुलबुल | Binod Poudel | Not nominated |
| 2022 (95th) | Butterfly on the Windowpane [11] | ऐना झ्यालको पुतली | Sujit Bidari | Not nominated |
| 2023 (96th) | Halkara [12] | Bikram Sapkota | Not nominated | |
Nepal's first Oscar submission, Caravan was made by a Nepal-based director from France, and was funded largely by Western sources. "Mask of Desire" with its themes of native Nepalese tradition and mythology was co-produced by Japan. Basain and Muna Madan, both based on classic works of Nepali literature, were fully domestic national productions made on low budgets by international standards.
