The following 44 films, all from different countries, were submitted for the 70th Academy Awards in the category Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film (release at the country of origin November 1, 1996 - October 31, 1997, ceremony March 1998). The highlighted and bolded titles were the five nominated films, which came from Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia and Spain, and the gold title was the winner, Karakter.
Congo (Kinshasa), Luxembourg and Ukraine submitted a film for the first time. South Africa sent its first film since the end of apartheid.
| Country | Film title used in nomination | Language | Original name | Director | IMDB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | Ashes of Paradise | (Spanish) | Cenizas del paraíso | Marcelo Piñeyro | [1] |
| Austria | The Unfish | (German) | Der Unfisch | Robert Dornhelm | [2] |
| Belgium | My Life in Pink | (French) | Ma Vie en Rose | Alain Berliner | [3] |
| Brazil | Four Days in September | (Portuguese) | O que é isso, companheiro? | Bruno Barreto | [4] |
| Canada | Cosmos | (French) | Cosmos | Jennifer Alleyn, Manon Briand, Marie-Julie Dallaire, Arto Paragamian, André Turpin & Denis Villeneuve | [5] |
| Colombia | The Debt | (Spanish) | La Deuda | Manuel Jose Alvarez & Nicolas Buenaventura | [6] |
| Congo DR | Macadam Tribu | (French) | Macadam Tribu | Jose Laplaine | [7] |
| Croatia | Lapitch the Little Shoemaker | (Croatian) | Čudnovate zgode šegrta Hlapića | Milan Blažeković | [8] |
| Cuba | Vertical Love | (Spanish) | Amor Vertical | Arturo Sotto Diaz | [9] |
| Czech Republic | A Forgotten Light | (Czech) | Zapomenuté světlo | Vladimir Michalek | [10] |
| Denmark | Barbara | (Danish) | Barbara | Nils Malmros | [11] |
| Egypt | Destiny | (Arabic) | المصير | Youssef Chahine | [12] |
| Finland | The Collector | (Finnish) | Neitoperho | Auli Mantila | [13] |
| France | Western | (French) | Western | Manuel Poirier | [14] |
| Germany | Beyond Silence | (German) | Jenseits der Stille | Caroline Link | [15] |
| Greece | Slaughter of the Cock | (Greek) | Η Σφαγή του Κόκορα | Andreas Pantzis | [16] |
| Hungary | The Witman Boys | (Hungarian) | Witman fiúk | János Szasz | [17] |
| Iceland | Blossi/810551 | (Icelandic) | Blossi/810551 | Julius Kemp | [18] |
| India | Guru | Malayalam | ? | Rajiv Anchal | [19] |
| Iran | Gabbeh | (Persian) | گبه | Mohsen Makhmalbaf | [20] |
| Israel | Pick a Card | (Hebrew) | עפולה אקספרס | Julie Shles | [21] |
| Italy | The Best Man | (Italian) | Il Testimone dello sposo | Pupi Avati | [22] |
| Japan | Princess Mononoke | (Japanese) | もののけ姫, | Hayao Miyazaki | [23] |
| Luxembourg | They | (French) | Elles | Luís Galvão Teles | [24] |
| Macedonia | Gypsy Magic | (Macedonian) | Gypsy Magic | Stole Popov | [25] |
| Mexico | Deep Crimson | (Spanish) | Profundo Carmesí | Arturo Ripstein | [26] |
| Netherlands | Karakter | (Dutch) | Karakter | Mike van Diem | [27] |
| Norway | Junk mail | (Norwegian) | Budbringeren | Pål Sletaune | [28] |
| Philippines | Milagros | (Tagalog) | Milagros | Marilou Diaz-Abaya | [29] |
| Poland | Love Stories | (Polish) | Historie Miłosne | Jerzy Stuhr | [30] |
| Portugal | Journey to the Beginning of the World | (Portuguese) | Viagem ao princípio do Mundo | Manoel De Oliveira | [31] |
| Russia | The Thief | (Russian) | Вор | Pavel Chukhrai | [32] |
| Slovakia | Orbis Pictus | (Slovak) | Orbis Pictus | Martin Šulík | [33] |
| Slovenia | Outsider | (Slovene) | Avtsajder | Andrej Košak | [34] |
| South Africa | Paljas | (Afrikaans) | Paljas | Katinka Heyns | [35] |
| Spain | Secrets of the Heart | (Spanish) | Secretos del corazón | Montxo Armendáriz | [36] |
| Sweden | Tic Tac | (Swedish) | Tic Tac | Daniel Alfredson | [37] |
| Switzerland | For Ever Mozart | (French) | For Ever Mozart | Jean-Luc Godard | [38] |
| Taiwan | Yours and Mine | (Chinese) | 我的神经病 | Shaudi Wang | [39] |
| Thailand | Daughter 2 | (Thai) | เสียดาย 2 | Chatrichalerm Yukol | [40] |
| Turkey | The Bandit | (Turkish) | Eşkıya | Yavuz Turgul | [41] |
| Ukraine | A Friend of the Deceased | (Russian) | Приятель покойника | Vyacheslav Krishtofovich | [42] |
| Venezuela | One Life and Two Trails | (Spanish) | Una vida y dos mandados | Alberto Arvelo | [43] |
| Yugoslavia | Three Summer Days | (Serbian) | Tri letnja dana | Mirjana Vukomanović | [44] |