The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences unveiled this afternoon the shortlists in ten categories for the 96th edition of the Oscars, which includes films by Latin American directors Lila Avilés and Maite Alberdi, and Afro-Latina director Michèle Stephenson.
The Mexican film Tótem, the second feature film by Avilés, was the only Latin American film shortlisted in the competition for Best International Feature. A Gotham Award and Independent Spirit Award nominee, the film follows seven-year-old Sol, who spends the day at her grandfather's home, helping to prepare a surprise party for her father. Throughout the day, chaos slowly takes over and fractures the family's foundations.
Chilean filmmaker Alberdi is looking to nab her second Oscar nomination with her latest film The Eternal Memory / La memoria infinita, which was shortlisted in the Best Documentary category. A hit at the Sundance Film Festival, the film is about Chilean couple Augusto and Paulina, who have been together for 25 years, but Augusto was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease eight years ago. Both of them fear the day he will no longer recognize her. Alberdi became the first Chilean woman to receive an Oscar nomination with her 2020 documentary The Mole Agent / El agente topo, which also became the first Chilean documentary to be nominated for an Academy Award.
Also shortlisted for Best Documentary was Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, directed by Afro-Latina director Michèle Stephenson, of Haitian and Panamanian descent, with Joe Brewster. The documentary offers a close look at the life of American poet Nikki Giovanni and the revolutionary periods in which she wrote, from the Civil Rights Movement to Black Lives Matter.
Stephenson and Brewster were also shortlisted in the Documentary Short Film category for Black Girls Play: The Story of Hand Games, an illuminating look at the influence that hand games played by Black girls has had on the American creative landscape.
The nominations for the 96th Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, January 23, 2024.
