La Grande Illusion in 1938. Jean Renoir's masterpiece failed to be nominated in any other categories although it was named Best Foreign Film by the New York Film Critics and the National Board of Review. The Academy wouldn't initiate its own Foreign Film award until 1947, giving a Special Award to Vittorio De Sica's Shoeshine. The Foreign Film became a regular competetive category in 1956.

Subsequent foreign language films to be nominated for Best Picture were
Z (1969)
The Emigrants (1972)
Cries and Whispers (1973)
Il Postino/The Postman (1995)
Life is Beautiful (1998)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Amour (2012)
Roma (2018)
Parasite (2019)
Minari (2020)
Drive My Car (2021)

Of the films named above, only Z, Life is Beautiful, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Amour and Roma also won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. La Grande Illusion was made before the award was created in 1947, and Cries and Whispers and Il Postino/The Postman were not submitted by their country of origin (a prerequisite for the award). Minari was a US production and not eligible for the International Film Award.

The Emigrants holds the curious distinction of being nominated for Best Picture of 1972, losing to The Godfather; while also losing the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar of 1971 (since that award is judged on a different timetable from the others), losing to The Garden of the Finzi-Contis.

The only film to win both awards is South Korea's Parasite. Its creator Bong Joon Ho broke the record as the individual to win the most Oscars for a single film with four when he took home the statuettes for Best Picture, Best Interational Feature (as the Best Foreign Film Award is now designated), Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.

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