Colombia has selected Rains Over Babel / Llueve sobre Babel, the debut feature by writer-director Gala del Sol, as its official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards. The selection was announced by the Colombian Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences.
A mesmerizing and exuberant retro-futuristic queer twist on Dante’s Inferno, Rains Over Babel had its world premiere in the NEXT competition at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, followed by its international premiere in the Bright Future section of the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
Set in a queer tropical-punk universe, the film follows a group of misfits who converge at Babel, a legendary dive bar that doubles as purgatory. Presiding over this liminal space is La Flaca—the city’s Grim Reaper—who challenges souls to gamble years of their lives in a daring bid to outwit Death herself.
Over the course of one eventful night, Dante strives to uncover the secrets of his past before his contract with La Flaca expires; the ghost Monet races to reclaim his body before it decomposes; Timbí and Uma descend through the circles of hell to save their loved ones; and Jacob wrestles with his inner turmoil as he prepares for his first drag performance.
A cinematic love letter to the Colombian city of Cali, reimagined as the mythical City of Maya, Rains Over Babel blends magical realism with gritty realism to create a vibrant world populated by gender-fluid characters. Del Sol builds an exuberant, psychedelic universe propelled by funky tropical music, exploring love, identity, resilience, and the pursuit of second chances.
The film features an ensemble cast including Saray Rebolledo, Felipe Aguilar Rodríguez, John Alex Castillo, William Hurtado, Santiago Pineda, and Celina Biurrun. A Colombia–United States–Spain co-production, Rains Over Babel is produced by H.A. Hermida, Ana Cristina Gutiérrez, Gala del Sol, Andrés Hermida, and Natalia Rendón Rodríguez.
Since its Sundance premiere, the film has enjoyed an extensive international festival run and received several awards, including the Panorama España Award at the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival and Best International Feature at Toronto’s Inside Out LGBT Film Festival.
Rains Over Babel follows Simón Mesa Soto’s A Poet / Un poeta as Colombia’s submission for the Best International Feature Film Oscar. Colombia has received one nomination in the category to date, for Ciro Guerra’s Embrace of the Serpent / El abrazo de la serpiente in 2016.
