In 2016, 89 countries submitted nominations for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Since 1947, the Academy has given out 70 foreign language film awards, with 57 going to European films, seven to Asian films, three to African films, and three to films from the Americas. Italy has won the award the most times: 14 times. France comes in second, having won it ten times. Spain and Japan are in third place, having won it four times each. As a result, below is a list of the top ten countries that produce the best films.
1. United States of America: It is not an exaggeration to state that the United States is the core of the film industry. Yes, it creates a lot of trash every year, but let’s not forget that for the past 100 years, it has been making high-quality films every year. Furthermore, it has produced plenty of outstanding filmmakers who continue to push the envelope for filmmakers everywhere.
2. France: For good reason, France is known as the birthplace of cinema. Many of the most significant contributions to the filmmaking process came from France. Aside from being the genuine leader of cinema, France is also the world’s third-largest film market in terms of admissions (after the United States and India).
3. Italy: Italian films have earned 14 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, the most of any country, and 12 Palmes d’Or, the second-most of any country, as of 2016. More recently, filmmakers like as Paolo Sorrentino and Nanni Moretti have continued to carry the torch.
4. United Kingdom: It’s tough to tell whether a film was created in the United Kingdom or the United States because practically all British films are in English. The UK’s single most significant contribution has been the massive number of actors and directors it has sent to Hollywood. Here are a few filmmakers from the United Kingdom: Christopher Nolan, Ridley Scott, Danny Boyle, and Steve McQueen are among the directors who have worked on films.
5. Sweden: Sweden would have landed a spot on this list even if it had only produced one director, Ingmar Bergman. Victor Sjöström, Lasse Hallström, Roy Andersson, Bo Widerberg, and Jan Troell are just a few of the great film directors who have come out of Sweden.
6. Japan: Japan boasts one of the world’s oldest and largest film industries. For those who are astonished by Japan’s high ranking on the list, I just have one name to mention: Akira Kurosawa. To understand Akira, what a genius he was, just watch films like Rashomon, Seven Samurai, and Tokyo Story.
7. Poland: Roman Polanski, Krzysztof Kielowski, Agnieszka Holland, Andrzej Wajda, Andrzej uawski, Andrzej Munk, and Jerzy Skolimowski are just a few of Poland’s great filmmakers. Roman Polanski’s work is well-known around the world, and he quickly relocated to Hollywood after gaining success in Poland.
8. India: By the number of films produced each year, India is the world’s largest film industry. One could argue that Indian film is so distinct from the rest of the world that whether Western countries accept it or not is irrelevant. What important is that Indian films continue to have the world’s largest audience.
9. Spain: Spain has a significant film history, similar to that of its more powerful neighbor, France. It rose to prominence with the rise of one of the great filmmakers, Luis Buuel, who was the first to attain worldwide acclaim, followed by Pedro Almodóvar in the 1980s.
10. Denmark: Denmark has long been known for two things: realism and religious/sexual candor in its films. Carl Th. Dreyer, a phenomenally talented Danish filmmaker, is unquestionably one of cinema’s greatest directors. In 1987, Gabriel Axel won an Oscar for Babette’s Feast, and in 1988, Bille August won an Oscar, a Palme d’Or, and a Golden Globe for Pelle the Conqueror.
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