The film received six Academy Award nominations , winning four , including Best Foreign Language Film . While it received the third highest number of nominations of 1984 , after '' Terms of Endearment '' and '' The Right Stuff '' ( both released in 1983 ) , the fact that Sweden chose to submit it for Best Foreign Language Film rendered it ineligible for a Best Picture nomination . The four wins was the most any foreign-language film had received at the Academy Awards to date . '' Fanny and Alexander '' marked the third and final time Bergman won Best Foreign Language Film , after '' The Virgin Spring '' ( 1960 ) and '' Through a Glass Darkly '' ( 1961 ) . Bergman did not personally attend the ceremony , while working on a stage production in Munich , so his award was accepted by his wife Ingrid von Rosen and Jörn Donner
Academy Award
56th Academy Awards
Fanny and Alexander