Cuba Seeks Nomination for 2021 Oscar Awards

Cuba is seeking for the third consecutive year a place among the filmS nominated for Best International Film at the 2021 Oscar Awards with the ‘Buscando a Casal’ (Looking for Casal) film by director Jorge Luis Sanchez.

As unfolded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Hollywood, the feature film is one of the 93 candidates, although the 15 official pre-candidates will be presented at a meeting scheduled for February 9.

The list includes ‘Los Sonambulos,’ Argentina; ‘Chaco,’ Bolivia; ‘Babenco: Tell Me When I Die,’ Brazil; ‘El Agente Topo,’ Chile; ‘El Olvido que Seremos,’ Colombia; ‘Ceniza Negra,’ Costa Rica; ‘Mis 500 Locos,’ Dominican Republic; ‘Vacio,’ Ecuador, and ‘La Llorona,’ Guatemala.

The selection also includes ‘Dias de Luz,’ Honduras; ‘Ya no Estoy Aqui,’ Mexico; ‘Operacion Causa Justa,’ Panama; ‘Matar a un Muerto,’ Paraguay; ‘Cancion sin Nombre,’ Peru; ‘Vitalina Varela,’ Portugal; ‘La Trinchera Infinita,’ Spain; ‘Aleli,’ Uruguay; and ‘Erase una vez en Venezuela,’ Venezuela.

The figures indicate the same number of nominations as in 2020, when, against all odds, South Korean Parasites drama by director Bong Joon-ho, won the statuette in this category.

The official nominations will be announced on March 15 and, for the first time, the entity will admit films without the requirement of being released on the big screen, which provides opportunities for the participation of materials from the digital platforms Netflix, HBO and Disney Plus.

In 2020, the Cuban-Canadian A Translator film, directed by brothers Sebastian and Rodrigo Barriuso, was one of the contenders and in 2019 the Cuban feature Sergio & Serguei by Ernesto Daranas led the competition.

Cuba has not figured as a nominee in the lofty US film awards since 1995, when the classic Strawberry and Chocolate, by directors Tomas Gutierrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabio, managed to position.