The Guatemalan Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences announced Jayro Bustamante’s Mountains of Fire / Cordillera de fuego as its official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards. This marks the fourth time that Bustamante has represented the Central American nation at the Oscars, following Ixcanul (2015), La Llorona (2020), and Rita (2024).
The fifth feature from one of Guatemala’s most internationally acclaimed filmmakers, Mountains of Fire centers on the emergence of a new volcano in Guatemala, a natural phenomenon that quickly exposes competing economic interests and the vulnerability of the Indigenous communities living in its path. Paula, a dedicated volcanologist, fights against government corruption and institutional neglect as she attempts to evacuate the communities at risk.
Blending drama, action, and elements of the conspiracy thriller, the film continues Bustamante’s exploration of the social and political realities of contemporary Guatemala. The filmmaker has said that the story was partly inspired by the devastating 2018 eruption of Guatemala’s Volcán de Fuego and by the country’s history of natural disasters and their disproportionate impact on vulnerable communities.
The film stars María Mercedes Coroy, Tatiana Palomo, María Telón, Juan Pablo Olyslager, Enrique Salanic, and Glendy Rucal, reuniting Bustamante with several performers from his previous films. Mountains of Fire had its world premiere in the Latin American Competition at the Mar del Plata International Film Festival and was subsequently released theatrically in Guatemala. The film was also recently selected to represent Guatemala in the race for Best Ibero-American Film at the 41st Goya Awards.
Bustamante’s La Llorona, Guatemala’s submission for the 93rd Academy Awards, made history by advancing to the 15-film shortlist for Best International Feature Film, becoming the first Guatemalan film to reach that stage of the Oscar race. The film was also nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Non-English Language, becoming the first Guatemalan film to receive a Golden Globe nomination.
