Of all the films nominated for an Oscar this year, Tanna might well be one of sweetest success stories.

The 2015 joint Australian and Vanuatuan production, a romance set in the eponymous South Pacific island, is relatively unknown outside of the region. However, all that is set to change now the film has been nominated in the Best Foreign Language category for the Academy Awards, a first for Australia.

But it's by no mean the first "foreign language" film the country's produced. There's a plethora of non-English speaking films set in Australia. We've compiled just a few you really need to see.

Although proud of their work on the film, Tanna's co-directors Bentley Dean and Martin Butler were stunned by the Oscar nomination. "Given the calibre of the competition I didn’t think we stood much chance," explained Butler to Mashable via email.

"But the mob in Tanna however were not at all surprised. They had been making ‘tamafa,’ an invocation to their Kastom spirit, for weeks to ensure the nomination and they were always confident of the outcome."

In terms of its plot, Tanna is a Romeo And Juliet-esque tale of star-crossed lovers forced apart by tribal laws. All actors in the movie were played by the Yakel people of the island in their own language, Nauvhal. All members of the cast portrayed characters that lined up closely with their real life selves.

Butler explains he drew less from Shakespeare and more from the history and culture of Tanna itself. "From the very beginning we set out to be authentic to the culture we were filming, but also to create an engaging and accessible narrative for a western cinema audience," Butler said.

"We lived in the village for seven months, we installed solar panels for power and we talked for over two months to learn the culture and form the story with the tribe."

"The tribe were the first people to see the finished film," Butler said. "We erected a huge screen in the village, with a good sound system and witnessed one of the most extraordinary cinema experiences you’re ever likely to find."

"The next day the Chiefs formally told us, 'we know you came with your equipment to make a film, but we consider this our film.' We thought this was our best review."

But aside from its status as a labor of love — not to mention an important cultural document — Tanna also represents a genuine win for the Australian filmmaking community.

Though the country has been entering films in the Best Foreign Language category on and off since 1996, only one film prior to Tanna ever made the shortlist — Kaytej director Warwick Thornton's powerful and meditative Samson And Delilah.

Like Tanna, Thornton's poetic Samson And Delilah relocates a Shakespearean romance into a contemporary Indigenous setting. Shot in Warlpiri language, the film mixes up a traditional story trope — young love battling tragic surroundings — with cutting-edge directorial flair.

Often critically-acclaimed Aussie flicks tend to be almost fable-like in their simplicity, obsessed with the natural world and morally ambiguous.

Take the film of another Down Under director, Cate Shortland's Lore. A study of resistance, innocence and the way the two intersect, the German language Lore might not have been shortlisted for the Oscars, but it still remains a powerful watch.

That's not even to mention two powerful Indigenous-led films from director Rolf De Heer, both of which were submitted to the Oscars but failed to be nominated — Charlie's Country and Ten Canoes.

Though unrelated in terms of plot, the two films act as sister pieces, both intertwining around the common theme of Aboriginal culture and history.

Charlie's Country in particular is a devastating take on the mass erasure of Indigenous history, anchored with an award-winning performance by celebrated actor David Gulpilil and written largely in the Yolngu Matha language.

Both remain hard-to-find for international audiences, despite their awesomeness.

Just as obscure is Tony Ayres' The Home Song Stories, a gorgeous Australian film shot in Cantonese, Mandarin and English, that perfectly encapsulates the immigrant experience.

Though the film was acclaimed in Australia, receiving a massive nine nominations at the Inside Film Awards, it failed to mainstream award success overseas.

Clearly, Australian knows how to make non-English speaking films. Here's to hoping that Tanna's nomination will ignite the flame of overseas acclaim.

As Butler put it, "Excellent films like The Rocket, The Babadook, Charlie’s Country and Samson And Delilah are being made in Australia but struggle for internal exposure. Hopefully the nomination of Tanna will spark an interest in this very vibrant part of the Australian film industry."

Hell yeah, go Tanna! Bring it on home.