Guatemala has announced that La Llorona, the third feature film by Jayro Bustamante has been selected as the Oscar candidate of the Central American country in the 93rd Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film Award.
La Llorona is a tale of horror and magical realism that reimagines the iconic Latin American fable, a grieving indigenous woman seeking revenge for the death of her children, as an urgent metaphor of Guatemala’s recent civil war which left an estimated hundreds of thousands dead, missing and displaced. The bloodiest period was under the rule of Efraín Ríos Montt, from 1981 to 1983. Today, Central America remains a region hit by violence against indigenous peoples, social movements and marginalized communities.
The film follows indignant retired general Enrique, whose character is inspired by Montt, as he finally faces trial for the genocidal massacre of thousands of Mayans decades ago. As a horde of angry protestors threatens to invade his opulent home, the women of the house—his wife, daughter, and granddaughter—weigh their responsibility to shield the erratic, senile Enrique against the devastating truths being publicly revealed and the increasing sense that a wrathful supernatural force is targeting them for his crimes.
Bustamante’s political horror film had its world premiere at Venice Days, the independent competitive section of the 2019 Venice Film Festival, and played to critical acclaim at the Toronto International Film Festival, the Sundance Film Festival, and BFI London Film Festival.
This is the third time that Guatemala selects an Oscar candidate after Luis Argueta’s The Silence of Neto / El silencio de Neto in 1994, and more recently in 2015 with Bustamante’s debut feature Ixcanul.
