Ecuador has announced Paul Venegas’ Emptiness /Vacío as its candidate for the 93rd edition of the Academy Awards in the Best International Film category, becoming the first Latin American country to select its national contender.
Venegas’ debut feature is an immigration drama that follows Lei and Wong, who clandestinely arrive to Ecuador from China. She has only one goal: New York. He longs to bring his son from China. The future of both is in the hands of Chang, a bipolar gangster who becomes obsessed with her and knows he owns everyone's abyss. Emptiness portrays the anguish of the immigrant, a journey of deep emotions immersed in male power relations, and where people struggle to save their dignity.
Winner of the Best Ecuadorian Film Award at the Guayaquil Film Festival, the Ecuadorian-Uruguayan co-production will have its international premiere in a few days at the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea, and it becomes the ninth Ecuadorian Oscar hopeful since the country first submitted a candidate in 2000.
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