Clockwise from upper left: Two films directed by Brillante Mendoza were submitted; two films starring Judy Ann Santos, including Ploning which she produced, were submitted; John Arcilla starred in three films that were submitted; Angel Aquino was in films submitted in 2004 and 2007.
The Philippines has submitted films for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film[nb 1] since the inception of the category in 1956.[3] The award is given annually by the United States Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue.[4] The "Best Foreign Language Film" category was not created until 1956; however, between 1947 and 1955, the Academy presented a non-competitive Honorary Award for the best foreign language films released in the United States.[5]
The Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) appoints a committee to choose one film among those released that year to be submitted as the Philippines's official entry to the Academy for a nomination for "Best International Feature Film" the following year.[6][7] The chosen films, along with their English subtitles, are sent to the Academy, where they are screened for the jury.[4][7] The 1953 biopic Genghis Khan was the first Philippine film submitted for consideration for the Honorary Foreign Language Film award, the precursor to the current category.[5][8] From 1956 until the establishment of the FAP in 1981, only four films were submitted for consideration: Child of Sorrow (1956), The Moises Padilla Story (1961), Because of a Flower (1967), and Ganito Kami Noon... Paano Kayo Ngayon? (1976).[6][9] After the FAP was founded, the Philippines submitted Of the Flesh in 1984 and This Is My Country in 1985, but made no further submissions until 1995's Harvest Home. Since then, the FAP has submitted a film in most years.[6][9] No film was submitted in 2005; Leo Martinez, the director general of the FAP, revealed that the organization had not received an invitation from the Academy.[nb 2][10] In 2021, the FAP controversially chose not to send an entry as they lacked government funding due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6][11] The Philippines has made 33 cumulative submissions to the category, but none have been nominated for an Oscar, the latest being the 2023 submission The Missing.
^The category was previously named the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but this was changed to the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film in April 2019, after the Academy deemed the word "Foreign" to be outdated.[1][2]
^The Film Academy of the Philippines generally receives an invitation to participate from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Then FAP director General Leo Martinez confirmed in October 2005 that "the country did not receive an invitation from the Oscars this year"; he further added, "It's not like we can write them and ask for an invitation. It doesn't work that way".[10]
^John Arcilla co-starred in the 2013 British independent crime drama Metro Manila, which was filmed in the Philippines. The film was later selected as the official submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film at the 86th Academy Awards by the United Kingdom.[13]
^For films starring Judy Ann Santos that were submitted as Philippine entries:
Ploning (2008): Santiago, Erwin (January 17, 2009). "Ploning fails in its Oscar bid". Philippine Entertainment Portal. Archived from the original on February 27, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2022.