Uruguay has selected Daniel Hendler’s A Loose End / Un cabo suelto as its official candidate for Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards. The fourth feature by the acclaimed Uruguayan actor and filmmaker stars Argentine actors Sergio Prina and Pilar Gamboa alongside Uruguayan musician Alberto “Mandrake” Wolf, making his film debut.
A genre-bending comedy with elements of a thriller, western, and romance, A Loose End follows Santiago (Prina), an Argentine cop on the run, who crosses into Uruguay to escape his own colleagues. There, he navigates a series of unpredictable obstacles, relying on quick wit and the unexpected kindness of strangers. As he begins to rebuild a life he never imagined, he discovers a fragile sense of belonging and meets a woman who might be the love of his life. What starts as a desperate flight evolves into an offbeat journey of reinvention, chance, and quiet resilience.
A Uruguay, Argentina, and Spain co-production, A Loose End had its world premiere in the Venice Spotlight section of the 2025 Venice Film Festival. It subsequently screened in the Horizontes Latinos competition at the San Sebastián International Film Festival, where it received a Special Jury Mention.
The film was produced by Micaela Solé of Uruguay’s Cordón Films, Ezequiel Borovinsky of Argentina’s Wanka Cine, and Luis Collar and Jorge Moreno of Spain’s Nephilim Producciones. Meikincine handles international sales.
Born in Montevideo, Hendler has built a prolific career on both sides of the Río de la Plata as an actor, writer, and director. A Loose End is his fourth feature behind the camera, following Norberto’s Deadline / Norberto apenas tarde (2010), The Candidate / El candidato (2016), and 27 Nights / 27 noches (2025).
As an actor, Hendler gained international recognition for his collaborations with Argentine filmmaker Daniel Burman, winning the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the Berlin International Film Festival for his performance in Lost Embrace / El abrazo partido (2004). His extensive acting credits also include such acclaimed Latin American films as 25 Watts, Whisky, The Paranoids / Los paranoicos, The Moneychanger / Así habló el cambista, and The Sleepwalkers / Los sonámbulos.
A Loose End is the first Uruguayan Oscar submission selected by the country’s newly established Uruguayan Film Academy, founded in 2025. The organization has taken over the selection process previously overseen by the Agencia del Cine y Audiovisual Uruguayo. The Academy also selected Hendler’s film to represent Uruguay in the Best Ibero-American Film category at Spain’s Goya Awards. Uruguay has yet to earn a nomination for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
