Bolivia has selected Álvaro Olmos Torrico’s The Condor Daughter / La hija cóndor as its official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards. The Association of Bolivian Filmmakers (ASOCINE) selected the film unanimously, praising its “honest and respectful” portrait of contemporary Bolivia and the strength and humanity of its two female protagonists. The film will also represent Bolivia in the Best Ibero-American Film category at Spain’s Goya Awards.
A co-production between Bolivia, Peru, and Uruguay, The Condor Daughter follows Clara, a teenager growing up in a small Indigenous community high in the Bolivian Andes. Raised by her adoptive mother, a traditional midwife, Clara has learned the ancient Quechua songs passed down through generations to guide women through childbirth. But while she carries this ancestral tradition, she dreams of leaving the mountains behind to become a folkloric music star in the city.
When Clara sets out to pursue that dream, the film explores the tensions between tradition and modernity, cultural inheritance and individual freedom, while foregrounding the preservation of Quechua language and Indigenous knowledge.
Written and directed by Cochabamba-born filmmaker Álvaro Olmos Torrico, the 109-minute drama stars María Magdalena Sanizo, Marisol Vallejos Montaño, and Nelly Huayta. The film is Olmos Torrico’s second feature following Wiñay. The Condor Daughter was filmed in the same Andean community where the director had met a traditional Quechua midwife whose life and work helped inspire the project.
The Condor Daughter had its World Premiere in the Centrepiece section of the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and has since enjoyed an extensive international festival run. Its accolades include Best Supporting Actress and Best Music at the Málaga Film Festival, as well as an acting prize at the Guadalajara International Film Festival.
The film is now set for its U.S. theatrical release through Outsider Pictures, opening in New York at Cinema Village on Friday, September 18, followed by a Los Angeles engagement at Laemmle Theatres.
