Unlike other Academy Awards , the International Feature Film Award does not require films to be released in the United States in order to be eligible for competition . Films competing in the category must have been first released in the country submitting them during the eligibility period defined by the rules of the Academy , and must have been exhibited for at least seven consecutive days in a commercial movie theater . The eligibility period for the category differs from that required for most other categories : the awards year defined for the International Feature Film category usually begins and ends before the ordinary awards year , which corresponds to an exact calendar year . For the 80th Academy Awards , for instance , the release deadline was set on September 30 , 2007 , whereas the qualifying run for most other categories extended until December 31 , 2007
80th Academy Awards
80th Academy Awards
Academy Award for Best International Feature Film