Bhutan and Nepal are among the one hundred countries that have submitted films for consideration for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Both countries made their first submissions 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.[1] As of 2009, four Nepalese films and one Bhutanese film have been submitted for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Nepal's initial submission, Caravan, was nominated for an Oscar.
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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.[1] Below is a list of the films that have been submitted by Bhutan and Nepal for review by the Academy for the award by year and the respective Academy Awards ceremony.
The Cup and Caravan were both 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) |
The Cup | Phörpa | Khyentse Norbu | Not Nominated |
| Year (Ceremony) |
Film title used in nomination | Original title | Director | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 (72nd) |
Caravan | हिमालय |
Eric Valli | Nominee |
| 2000 (73rd) |
Mask of Desire | Mukundo | Tsering Rhitar Sherpa | Not Nominated |
| 2003 (76th) |
Muna Madan [2] | मुनामदन | Gyanendra Bahadur Deuja | Not Nominated |
| 2006 (79th) |
Basain | Basain | Subash Gajurel | Not Nominated |
Although Bhutanese films have generally been more successful than Nepalese films at getting released internationally (Golden Cup: The Legacy, Milarepa, Travellers and Magicians), they have not sent any films to the competition since 1999.
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. Nepal has been hampered recently by the high costs of English subtitling and complicated AMPAS rules regarding entering digitally produced films in the competition.
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