In 1956, the American 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...

 (AMPAS) asked individual countries to submit their best films of the year for the inaugural Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. In previous years, the Foreign Language Oscar was not a regular award, and there were no nominees- a winner was simply announced at the Oscar ceremony.

Eight countries from Western Europe and East Asia submitted films for consideration for the first award, and five of these were selected as Oscar nominees.

The inaugural winner, Italy's La Strada, was announced at the Oscar ceremony, which took place on March 27, 1957.

Country	Film title used in nomination	Original title	Language(s)	Director(s)	Result
	Qivitoq Qivitoq Qivitoq is a 1956 Danish film directed by Erik Balling and starring Poul Reichhardt and Astrid Villaume. An intense romantic drama, the movie was filmed entirely on location in Greenland...	Qivitoq	Danish	Erik Balling	Nominee
	Gervaise Gervaise Gervaise is a 1956 French film directed by René Clément based on the novel L'Assommoir by Émile Zola. It depicts a woman in the nineteenth century trying to cope with the pressure of dealing with her alcoholic husband...	Gervaise	French	René Clément	Nominee
	The Captain of Köpenick	Der Hauptmann von Köpenick	German	Helmut Käutner	Nominee
	La Strada La Strada La Strada is a 1954 Italian neorealist drama directed by Federico Fellini in which a naïve young woman is sold to a brutish man and goes on the road as a part of his itinerant show....	La Strada	Italian	Federico Fellini Federico Fellini Federico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , was an Italian film director and scriptwriter. Known for a distinct style that blends fantasy and baroque images, he is considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century...
	The Burmese Harp	ビルマの竪琴	Japanese	Kon Ichikawa Kon Ichikawa was a Japanese film director.-Early life and career:Ichikawa was born in Ise, Mie Prefecture. In the 1930s Ichikawa attended a technical school in Osaka. Upon graduation, in 1933, he found a job with a local rental film studio, J.O. Studio, in their animation department...	Nominee
	Anak dalita Child of Sorrow (film) Child of Sorrow is a 1956 Philippine crime film directed by Lamberto V. Avellana. The film was selected as the Philippine entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 29th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee...	Anak dalita	Tagalog	Lamberto V. Avellana
	Afternoon of the Bulls Afternoon of the Bulls Afternoon of the Bulls is a 1956 Spanish drama film directed by Ladislao Vajda. It was entered into the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. The film was selected as the Spanish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 29th Academy Awards.-Selected cast:...	Tarde de Toros	Spanish	Ladislao Vajda
	The Staffan Stolle Story The Staffan Stolle Story The Staffan Stolle Story is a 1956 Swedish comedy film directed by Hasse Ekman. The film was selected as the Swedish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 29th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.-Cast:...	Ratataa	Swedish	Hasse Ekman Hasse Ekman Hasse Ekman was a Swedish director, actor, writer and producer for film, stage and television.Hasse Ekman is probably Sweden's most successful and critically acclaimed film director pre Ingmar Bergman and post Sjöström and Stiller, with his peak in mid-1940s to the year 1950...

Sources

• Margaret Herrick Library, 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...