In the 94th edition of the gathering to be held in Los Angeles, California, on March 27, feature films competing for the award come from countries as diverse as Japan, Denmark, Norway, Bhutan and Italy.
With no productions in this important category, Latin American countries were left without the possibility of increasing the number of four awards won in this area throughout the history of the awards.
Although countries in the region have a total of 27 nominations, only movies from Argentina, Chile and Mexico have won Oscars.
In the case of the former, it is the only Latin American nation with two prizes, won by La historia oficial(1985) and El secreto de sus ojos (2009), while Chile got the statuette through Una mujer fantástica(2017) and Mexico with the acclaimed Roma (2018), the film in the area that was also nominated for Best Picture.
Mexican films, seven Argentinian, four Brazilian, two Chilean and one each from Cuba, Peru, Nicaragua, Colombia and Puerto Rico managed to enter the fight for an Oscar at some point.
The longing of the region’s moviegoers due to this year’s absence may be somewhat appeased by the fact that there will be works and figures from the area with a chance of winning.
Such is the example of a regular at the Academy Awards ceremony, Mexico’s Guillermo del Toro, whose work The Alley of Lost Souls has several nominations, including the feature film category.
Del Toro’s fellow countryman, Carlos Lopez Estrada, is the co-director of Raya and the Last Dragon, a film that is competing for the top award in animated film, to which Encanto, a movie inspired by Colombia and the magical realism of Gabriel García Márquez’s literature, is also added.
Dos oruguitas, written by Puerto Rican-born actor and composer Lin-Manuel Miranda, belongs to this movie and is the first Spanish-language piece to be nominated for an Oscar for original song since 2005, when the winner was Al otro lado del río, from Diarios de motocicleta (The Motorcycle Diaries).
For its part, Chile will be seeking a win in the animated short film category with Bestia; and Afro-Puerto Rican performer Ariana de Bose will be among candidates for best supporting actress for her participation in West Side Story.
Taken from Orbe
By Martha Isabel Andres
jg/mia
