The Mexican Academy of Film Arts and Sciences has announced that Sujo, directed by Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez, will represent Mexico in the Best International Feature competition at the 97th Academy Awards. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival last January, where it won the World Cinema Dramatic Grand Jury Prize.
Sujo tells the story of a four-year-old boy, the beloved son of a murdered cartel gunman from a small Mexican town. Orphaned and in danger, Sujo narrowly escapes death with the help of his aunt, who raises him in the isolated countryside. Despite the hardship, poverty, and the constant peril tied to his father’s legacy, Sujo survives. As he enters his teens, a rebellious streak awakens within him, leading him to join the local cartel as a rite of passage. In his adulthood, Sujo tries to break free from the violence that has surrounded him, but his father’s past continues to haunt him, forcing him to confront a seemingly inevitable fate.
Mexico has earned nine Oscar nominations in the Best International Feature category, winning its first Oscar in 2019 with Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma. In recent years, the country has maintained a strong presence in the category, earning shortlist spots with Fernando Frías’ I’m No Longer Here, Tatiana Huezo’s Prayers for the Stolen, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, and Lila Avilés’ Tótem.
