Three Latin American films, from Chile, Guatemala, and Mexico, have moved to the next round of the competition for Best International Feature Film at the 93rd edition of the Academy Awards getting selected in the shortlist of 15 titles that was just announced by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
The Latin American contenders still vying for this year’s Oscar are The Mole Agent / El agente topo by Maite Alberdi from Chile, La Llorona by Jayro Bustamante from Guatemala, and I’m No Longer Here / Ya no estoy aquí by Fernando Frías from Mexico. There was no major surprise in the announcement, as these three titles were consistently listed as the frontrunners in numerous predictions from the trade publications. Additionally The Mole Agent was also shortlisted for Best Documentary in a very tough competition with a record number of 283 qualifying films.
This evening news are a landmark for Guatemalan cinema as it tries to nab its first nomination ever in this category. Both Chile and Mexico, have been nominated to the Oscars and have won for Best Foreign Language Film: Sebastián Lelio’s The Fantastic Woman in 2018, and Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma, a year later.
The nominations for the Academy Award will be announced on Monday, March 15, and the winners will be announced on Sunday, April 25.
