Uruguay has submitted films for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film [nb 1] regularly since 2001. The award is handed out annually by the United States Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue. [3]
Uruguay, represented by Cinemateca Uruguaya, submitted drama A Place in the World to AMPAS in the fall of 1992. On 3 December 1992, AMPAS included the film on its list of official submissions [4] and it was screened alongside 32 other films for AMPAS' Foreign Language Film Committee. On 17 February 1993, it was announced that the film had been nominated for an Oscar, representing Uruguay. A controversy quickly began when stories began circulating that the film had minimal Uruguayan artistic input- the film was shot by an Argentine writer/director in Argentina, the plot was set in Argentina, and the cast and crew were primarily from Argentina. The film was in the running (and finished in second place) to represent Argentina in the Oscar race, it represented Argentina at the Golden Globe Awards and eventually went on to win Best Picture at the Argentinian National Film Awards (the Asociación de Críticos Cinematográficos de Argentina) [5] Ultimately, AMPAS disqualified the film and removed it from the Oscar ballot.[ citation needed ] Uruguay rejoined the Oscar competition in 2001.[ citation needed ]
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited the film industries of various countries to submit their best film for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film since 1956. The Foreign Language Film Award Committee oversees the process and reviews all the submitted films. Following this, they vote via secret ballot to determine the five nominees for the award. [3] Below is a list of the films that have been submitted by Uruguay for review by the Academy for the award by year and the respective Academy Awards ceremony.
All films were produced in Spanish. Their 2005 submission was announced but was not on the official AMPAS list, and did not screen for the Academy. Although most Foreign Film submissions in this category have historically been dramas, Uruguay chose comedies four years in a row, from 2001–2004, and again in 2009-2010.
Five of Uruguay's ten accepted submissions co-starred Uruguayan actor César Troncoso, included those selected from 2007-2009.
Because of the small size of Uruguay's domestic film industry, most of Uruguay's major recent films have been selected for the Oscars. Notable exceptions include 2001's 25 Watts , which lost to In This Tricky Life , Berlin Film Festival Grand Jury Prize winner Gigante , which lost to Bad Day to Go Fishing in 2009 and Berlinale 2013 Panorama competitor So Much Water, which lost to animated film Anina .
Every year since 2014, except in 2019, Uruguay has announced a list of finalists that varied in number over the years (from 2 to 5 films) before announcing its official Oscar nominee. The following films have been shortlisted by the Uruguayan National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual:
Gatica, el mono is a 1993 Argentine drama film directed by Leonardo Favio. It is a biopic of Argentine boxer José María Gatica.
It won the Silver Condor for Best Film. The film was selected as the Argentine entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 66th Academy Awards, but Leonardo Favio asked the Instituto Nacional de Cinematografía (INC) to remove it as a nominee in order to protest in delays of the Congress' approval of the Foreign Films taxes.
A Place in the World is a 1992 Argentine drama film co-written, co-produced and directed by Adolfo Aristarain, and starring Federico Luppi. It stars José Sacristán, Federico Luppi, Leonor Benedetto and Cecilia Roth.
Mr. Kaplan is a 2014 Uruguayan comedy-drama film directed by Álvaro Brechner. It was selected as the Uruguayan entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards, but was not nominated.
Family Album is a 2023 Uruguayan-Argentine comedy film written and directed by Guillermo Rocamora. It is about a family where César, the father, and Manuel, the eldest son, decide to set up their own musical group, but generational differences and musical tastes make the band unsustainable. Starring Diego Cremonesi, Franco Rizzaro, Valeria Lois, Alfonso Tort, Vicente Pieri and Roberto Suárez. It premiered on August 24, 2023, in Uruguayan theaters.