( CNN ) -- They have titles like `` El Secreto de Sus Ojos , '' `` No Puedo Vivir sin Ti '' and `` Casanegra . '' They 're directed by auteurs with names like Paresh Mokashi and Giuseppe Tornatore . They 've been selected from hundreds , sometimes thousands , of entries from countries like South Korea , Venezuela and Bangladesh . And some experts say they do n't have the slightest chance of winning the Oscar for best picture . Certainly not this year . No foreign language films were nominated in the best picture category . The foreign language film category at the Academy Awards is one of the most respected worldwide , Academy executive director Bruce Davis said . The category was launched in the late 1940s , when it became clear that European and Asian nations were creating incredible films . Every year , each of more than 60 countries around the world selects one film to send to the Academy for consideration -- kind of like the Olympics for filmmakers . The Oscar is then awarded , not to the filmmakers , but to the winning country . `` A better analogy is [ soccer 's ] World Cup , '' Davis said . `` You only get to submit one team to the World Cup and filmmakers have to decide within countries what they 're going to send . Even India , which makes thousands of films a year , can only send one . '' See list of Oscar nominees -- including foreign language films . Richard Brody , a film critic for The New Yorker , thinks the nomination process is peculiar and leads to some strange films being selected by certain governments . For example , `` We 're not likely to see the best of Chinese cinema because it tends to be critical of Chinese government , '' he said . A film must have predominantly non-English dialogue to be included in the foreign language film category . Yet any film submitted is also eligible for other categories , as long as it has been shown in a Los Angeles , California , theater for one week . The French film `` Z '' won an Oscar for film editing in 1969 ; it was also nominated for best picture , directing and writing . In 1972 the Swedish film `` The Emigrants '' was nominated for best picture , best actress , directing and writing . In 2000 , the best picture nominee `` Crouching Tiger , Hidden Dragon '' from China won for art direction , cinematography and best score . Yet no foreign language film has ever won best picture . `` I do understand why the Academy is looking first to American films , '' Brody said . `` It 's an Academy that 's centered around Hollywood . '' Davis equates it with any other country 's film awards -- if you watch the British Film Awards you 'll see mostly British films win ; if you watch France 's Cesar Awards , you 'll see mostly French films win . The Academy chose 10 nominees in the best picture category , up from five in past years . Foreign film lovers had hoped it would open up the category to their favorite picks . `` I 'm a great fan of many foreign filmmakers , '' Davis said . `` There have been years that , if they only counted my ballot , ... a foreign film would have won . '' David Wallechinsky has a good grasp on the foreign language film nominees for this year -- he 's already seen 47 of the 65 submitted . With a DVD collection including films from 105 countries , he 's watched the gamut of foreign films from artsy to action-packed . And his pick this year was n't the nominated German film , `` The White Ribbon . '' It 's the French film `` Un Prophete , '' by director Jacques Audiard -- which also was nominated . `` The 'Prophete ' is way better than most of the movies in the U.S. , '' Wallechinsky said . `` It 's definitely better than 'Inglourious Basterds . ' Even a film that was good like 'The Hurt Locker ' -- that was a good film , I have no problem with that film -- 'Prophete ' is still a better film . '' Brody believes a film 's Oscar win has less to do with its superior quality than with its commercial success . He says last year 's winner , `` Slumdog Millionaire , '' which grossed more than $ 141 million at U.S. theaters , might not have done as well if it was a foreign language film . `` Slumdog Millionaire '' swept the 81st Academy Awards with eight Oscars , including best picture , director and adapted screenplay . But would it have won best picture if it had n't been shot in English and released in the U.S. ? `` In a word , no , '' Wallechnisky said . `` There are lots of people who will only see a film in English . I know very educated , very sophisticated people who just can not handle subtitles . '' Still , with U.S. companies increasingly embracing the global economy , more Hollywood flicks are being filmed overseas . The lines are blurring between American and foreign -- Japanese anime is popular in the U.S. , as are Asian action films and British comedies . Davis says he can imagine a future when the lines wo n't exist at all . `` I think it would be great to think of a day when there is no need for a foreign language category . I 'd love it , but I do n't think we 're quite there yet . ''
No foreign language film has ever won the Oscar for best picture . Sixty - five nations submitted foreign language films for consideration this year . Best picture nominees increased from 8 to 10 , increasing nominations for foreign films . Film fan : ` ` Slumdog ##s '' d n't have won last year if it had n't been in English .