The Bolivian Association of Filmmakers has selected The Visitor / El visitante, the fourth feature by director Martín Boulocq, as the country’s official candidate for Best International Film at the 96th edition of the Academy Awards.
An introspective look at family relationships, class disparity, and the increasingly-dominant presence of Evangelism in Bolivia, The Visitor had its world premiere at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival. Set in the city of Cochabamba, the film tells the story of Humberto (in an impressive performance by newcomer Enrique Aráoz), an ex-convict who makes a modest living by singing at wakes. Humberto’s greatest desire is to rebuild his relationship with his estranged daughter and provide her with a decent life, but the grandparents of the child—wealthy Evangelical pastors—are not willing to give up custody of their only granddaughter. Financially and ideologically bullied into a corner, Humberto is forced to face his own demons while simultaneously fighting a powerful ecclesiastical institution to which he once belonged.
The Visitor marks the 16th candidate that Bolivia has submitted to the Oscars since 1995, but the South American country has not received yet a nomination.
