Cuba has submitted films for consideration in the Best Foreign Language Film

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...

 category at the Oscars since 1978. The award is handed out annually by the United States Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...

 to a feature-length

Feature length

Feature length is motion picture terminology referring to the length of a feature film. According to the rules of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a feature length motion picture must have a running time of more than 40 minutes to be eligible for an Academy Award.The term may also...

 motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue.

As of 2010, Cuba has submitted sixteen films. Cuba received their first and only Oscar nomination for their 1994 submission, Strawberry and Chocolate

Strawberry and Chocolate

Strawberry and Chocolate is a Cuban-Spanish-Mexican co-produced film, directed by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabío, based on the short story "The Wolf, The Forest and the New Man" written by Senel Paz in 1990. Senel Paz also wrote the screenplay for the film.- Plot :The story takes...

, a gay-themed comedy-drama.

The Cuban nominee is selected annually by the Cuban Film Institute, also known by its Spanish acronym, ICAIC (Instituto Cubano del Arte y la Industria Cinematográficos).

Submissions

Every year, each country is invited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to submit its best film for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The Foreign Language Film Award Committee oversees the process and reviews all the submitted films. Following this, they vote via secret ballot

Secret ballot

The secret ballot is a voting method in which a voter's choices in an election or a referendum are anonymous. The key aim is to ensure the voter records a sincere choice by forestalling attempts to influence the voter by intimidation or bribery. The system is one means of achieving the goal of...

 to determine the five nominees for the award.

The following is a list of the films submitted by Cuba in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Academy Awards. All films were produced in Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

.

Year (Ceremony)	English title	Spanish title	Director	Result
1978 1978 in film The year 1978 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 1 - Bob Dylan's film Renaldo and Clara, a documentary of the "Rolling Thunder Revue" tour premieres in Los Angeles, California.... (51st) 51st Academy Awards The 51st Academy Awards were presented April 9, 1979 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. The ceremonies were presided over by Johnny Carson....	Viva el Presidente	El Recurso del método
1987 1987 in film -Events:*January 31 - The Cure for Insomnia premieres at The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Illinois, to officially become the world's longest film according to Guinness World Records.... (60th) 60th Academy Awards The 60th Academy Awards were presented April 11, 1988 at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was the first to be held there since the 20th Academy Awards...	A Successful Man A Successful Man A Successful Man is a 1985 Cuban drama film directed by Humberto Solás. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival...	Un hombre de éxito
1988 1988 in film -Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:* Act of Piracy* Action Jackson, starring Carl Weathers, Craig T. Nelson, Vanity, Sharon Stone* The Adventures of Baron Munchausen* Akira* Alice... (61st) 61st Academy Awards The 61st Academy Awards were presented on March 29, 1989 at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. The date had been moved from its usual Monday telecast due to Easter, which was on March 26. For this show, there was no "official" host as the show opened with a stage-show featuring Merv Griffin, Snow...	Letters from the Park	Cartas del parque
1989 1989 in film -Events:* Batman is released on June 23, and goes on to gross over $410 million worldwide.* Actress Kim Basinger and her brother Mick purchase Braselton, Georgia, for $20 million... (62nd) 62nd Academy Awards The 62nd Academy Awards were presented March 26, 1990 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California. The venue, half the size of the one used the previous year, prompted Gil Cates and Karl Malden to put a memo to "our friends in the industry" in the March 13th edition of the Daily...	Supporting Roles	Papeles secundarios
1990 1990 in film The year 1990 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* CGI technique is expanded with motion capture for CGI characters, used in Total Recall .* The first digitally-manipulated matte painting is used, in Die Hard 2.... (63rd) 63rd Academy Awards The 63rd Academy Awards were presented March 25, 1991 at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. The show was hosted by Billy Crystal.The prominent winner was Dances with Wolves which earned seven Oscars, including Best Picture. Joe Pesci winning Best Supporting Actor...	The Beauty of the Alhambra	La bella del Alhambra
1991 1991 in film The year 1991 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*April 28 - Bonnie Raitt marries actor Michael O'Keefe in New York* Terminator 2: Judgment Day, became one of the landmarks for science fiction action films with its groundbreaking visual effects from Industrial Light & Magic.*November... (64th) 64th Academy Awards The 64th Academy Awards were presented March 30, 1992 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. The show was the third consecutive to be hosted by Billy Crystal...	Hello Hemingway Hello Hemingway Hello Hemingway is a 1990 Cuban drama film directed by Fernando Pérez and starring Laura de la Uz. The plot, set in Havana in the last period of Fulgencio Batista's dictatorship, follows a young girl whose aspirations to obtain a scholarship in America, against the odds, are paralleled with her...	Hello Hemingway
1992 1992 in film The year 1992 in film involved many significant films. -Top grossing films:-Awards:Academy AwardsGolden Globe AwardsNational Film Awards... (65th) 65th Academy Awards The 65th Academy Awards were presented March 29, 1993 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. This was the fourth consecutive show hosted by Billy Crystal.Unforgiven won four Oscars out of nine nominations including Best Picture.-Awards:...	Adorable Lies	Adorables mentiras
1994 1994 in film 1994 was a significant year in film.The top grosser worldwide was The Lion King, which to date stands as the highest-grossing traditionally-animated film of all time... (67th) 67th Academy Awards The 67th Academy Awards, honoring the best films of 1994, were held on March 27, 1995 at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California. They were hosted by well-known comedian and talk show host David Letterman....	Strawberry and Chocolate Strawberry and Chocolate Strawberry and Chocolate is a Cuban-Spanish-Mexican co-produced film, directed by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabío, based on the short story "The Wolf, The Forest and the New Man" written by Senel Paz in 1990. Senel Paz also wrote the screenplay for the film.- Plot :The story takes...	Fresa y chocolate	Tomás Gutiérrez Alea Tomás Gutiérrez Alea Tomás Gutiérrez Alea was a Cuban filmmaker. He wrote and directed more than 20 features, documentaries, and short films, which are known for his sharp insight into post-Revolutionary Cuba, and possess a delicate balance between dedication to the revolution and criticism of the social, economic,...  & Juan Carlos Tabíos	Nominee
1996 1996 in film Major releases this year included Scream, Independence Day, Fargo, Trainspotting, The English Patient, Twister, Mars Attacks!, Jerry Maguire and a version of Evita starring Madonna.-Events:... (69th) 69th Academy Awards The 69th Academy Awards were dominated by movies produced by independent studios, financed outside of mainstream Hollywood, leading to 1996 being dubbed "The Year of the Independents". All but one of the nominees for Best Picture were low-budget independent movies The 69th Academy Awards were...	Think of Me	Pon tu pensamiento en mí
1997 1997 in film -Events:* The original Star Wars trilogy's Special Editions are released.* Production begins on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.* Titanic becomes the first film to gross US$1,000,000,000 at the box office making it the highest grossing film in history until Avatar broke the record in 2010.*... (70th) 70th Academy Awards The 70th Academy Awards were noted for their high ratings and the 11 wins obtained by the Best Picture Titanic. Billy Crystal hosted the ceremony for the sixth time, and received an Emmy award for his performance....	Vertical Love	Amor vertical
2002 2002 in film The year 2002 in film involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of... (75th) 75th Academy Awards The 75th Academy Awards honored the best films of 2002, were held on March 23, 2003, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California. It was produced by Gil Cates and hosted for the second time by Steve Martin....	Nothing More	Nada
2003 2003 in film The year 2003 in film involved some significant events. Releases of sequels took place with movies like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Pokémon Heroes, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,... (76th) 76th Academy Awards The 76th Academy Awards ceremony honored the best films of 2003 and was broadcast from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California on ABC beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST/8:30 p.m. EST, February 29, 2004 . The show was produced by Joe Roth and was hosted for the eighth time by comedian Billy Crystal.The...	Suite Habana Suite Habana Suite Habana is a 2003 Cuban documentary directed by Fernando Pérez.The documentary was filmed with fictional cinema techniques depicting a day in a life of thirteen real people, from a ten-year-old child with Down Syndrome to a 79-year-old lady who sells peanuts in the street.The film has no...	Suite Habana
2005: 2005 in film - Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005... (78th) 78th Academy Awards The 78th Academy Awards honored the best films of 2005 and were held on March 5, 2006, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California. They were hosted by The Daily Show host Jon Stewart, with Tom Kane making his first appearance as the show's announcer...	Viva Cuba Viva Cuba Viva Cuba is a 2005 Cuban film, directed by Juan Carlos Cremata and Iraida Malberti Cabrera, and written by Cremata and Manolito Rodriguez...	Viva Cuba
2006 2006 in film - Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006... (79th) 79th Academy Awards The 79th Academy Awards ceremony , honored the best films of 2006 and took place on February 25, 2007 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on ABC. Ellen DeGeneres hosted the ceremony for the first time. The producer was Laura Ziskin. The announcers were Don LaFontaine and Gina Tuttle.The nominees were...	El Benny El Benny El Benny is a Cuban film released in 2006, directed and co-written by Jorge Luis Sánchez, his first feature length film. It is a fictional story based on the life of the famous Cuban musician Benny Moré...	El Benny
2007 2007 in film This is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007... (80th) 80th Academy Awards The 80th Academy Awards ceremony honored the best films in 2007 and was broadcast from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California on ABC beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST/8:30 p.m. EST, February 24, 2008 . During the ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented Academy Awards in 24...	The Silly Age The Silly Age The Silly Age is a 2006 Cuban film directed by Pavel Giroud. It was Cuba's submission to the 80th Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as a nominee....	La edad de la peseta
2009 2009 in film The year 2009 saw the release of many films. Seven made the top 50 list of highest-grossing films, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that as of this year, their Best Picture category would consist of ten nominees, rather than five .- Highest-grossing films :Please note... (82nd) 82nd Academy Awards The 82nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 2009 and took place March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. The ceremony was scheduled well after...	Fallen Gods Fallen Gods Fallen Gods is an original novella written by Jonathan Blum and Kate Orman and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Eighth Doctor. It was released both as a standard edition hardback and a deluxe edition featuring a frontispiece by Daryl...	Los dioses Rotos
2011 2011 in film The year 2011 is notable for containing the release of the most film sequels in a single year, at 27 sequels. The following tables list films that are in production or have completed production and will be released in the United States and Canada at some point in 2011.- Highest-grossing films :... (84th) 84th Academy Awards The 84th Academy Awards ceremony will honor the best films of 2011 and will take place on February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California. It will be televised in the United States on ABC. The host was originally going to be Eddie Murphy. However, after Brett Ratner resigned as...	Habanastation Habanastation Habanastation is a 2011 Cuban drama film directed by Ian Padrón. The film has been selected as the Cuban entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 84th Academy Awards.-Cast:* Claudia Alvariño as Maestra Claudia* Rubén Araujo as Compinche del ñato...	Habanastation

Notes

NOTES

Natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery is an experimental surgical technique whereby "scarless" abdominal operations can be performed with an endoscope passed through a natural orifice then through an internal incision in the stomach, vagina, bladder or colon, thus avoiding any external...

:

Cuba's first submission was directed by Miguel Littin

Miguel Littin

Miguel Ernesto Littín Cucumides is a Chilean film director, screenwriter, film producer and novelist. He was born to a Palestinian father, Hernán Littin and a Greek mother, Cristina Cucumides....

, a leftist Chilean director who was nominated in this category twice, representing Mexico in 1975/76 (for Letters from Marusia

Letters from Marusia

Letters from Marusia is a 1976 Mexican film directed by Chilean Miguel Littín. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It was also entered into the 1976 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Gian Maria Volonté...

) and Nicaragua in 1982/83 (for Alsino and the Condor

Alsino and the Condor

Alsino and the Condor is a 1982 Nicaraguan film directed by Miguel Littín. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It won the Golden Medal at the Moscow International Film Festival. The film was a co-production between Nicaragua, Mexico and Cuba...

). He also represented his native Chile in 2009.

In addition to the above films, the Dominican Republic submitted Guaguasi- a drama directed by a Cuban-American exile, set amidst the turmoil of the 1956 Cuban Revolution and filmed in the Dominican Republic- for consideration in 1983,

References:
IMDB
Variety