The Philippines have submitted films for consideration for the Best Foreign-Language Film category of the Academy Awards since the inception of the category in 1956, when the Italian film La Strada won the honors. The 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. [1]
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Situated in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of about 7,641 islands that are categorized broadly under three main geographical divisions from north to south: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The capital city of the Philippines is Manila and the most populous city is Quezon City, both part of Metro Manila. Bounded by the South China Sea on the west, the Philippine Sea on the east and the Celebes Sea on the southwest, the Philippines shares maritime borders with Taiwan to the north, Japan to the northeast, Vietnam to the west, Palau to the east, and Malaysia and Indonesia to the south.
The Academy Awards, also officially and popularly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in the film industry. Given annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the awards are an international recognition of excellence in cinematic achievements as assessed by the Academy's voting membership. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a golden statuette, officially called the "Academy Award of Merit", although more commonly referred to by its nickname "Oscar". The statuette depicts a knight rendered in Art Deco style.
La Strada is a 1954 Italian drama film directed by Federico Fellini from his own screenplay co-written with Tullio Pinelli and Ennio Flaiano. The film tells the story of Gelsomina, a simple-minded young woman bought from her mother by Zampanò, a brutish strongman who takes her with him on the road.
In the 26th Academy Awards (1953), the first Filipino film to be exhibited in the Venice Film Festival, Genghis Khan , was under contention for receipt of the Honorary Foreign Language Film award, the precursor to the current category. [2]
The 26th Academy Awards ceremony was held on March 25, 1954. It took place at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, and the NBC Century Theatre in New York City.
Genghis Khan is a 1950 Filipino bioepic film directed by Manuel Conde, based on the life of Mongol ruler and emperor Genghis Khan.
From 1956 to the inception of the Film Academy of the Philippines in 1982, four films have been submitted for consideration by the Film Society of the Philippines, the Film Institute of the Philippines, the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS), and the Philippine Movie Producers Association, the four organizations that were responsible for doing so. Only four films were sent during those times because of certain technicalities that vetoed possible submissions out of the list.
Established in 1981, the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) is the Philippines' official counterpart of the United States' Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The FAP was founded through Executive Order 640-A issued by the President of the Philippines. The academy serves as the umbrella organization of various guilds of the movie industry that organize and supervise activities to optimize competency. The FAP gives recognition and awards to film artists, technicians and workers for their outstanding performances and achievements. The Film Academy of the Philippines Awards, shortened as the FAP Awards, have been given since 1983. The purpose of the 1983 award ceremony was to honor film achievements in 1982. In 2005, the name of the award was officially changed into Luna Awards.
Since 1982, the Film Academy has, on an irregular basis, sent submissions to the Academy Awards for that category. [3]
