The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film was created in 1956 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to honour non-English-speaking films produced outside the United States.

Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Guatemala, Macedonia and Serbia submitted films to the competition for the first time.

Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski originally had two films in the race when Poland and Switzerland entered two of his Three Colors trilogy.

Switzerland's Red was disqualified,[3][4] however, Poland's White screened alongside the other films, but did not make the final five.

The bolded titles were the five nominated films, which came from Belgium, Cuba, Macedonia, Taiwan and the eventual winner, Burnt by the Sun, from Russia.