Oscar 2017 Predictions: Will Bolivia get its First Oscar Nomination with 'Sealed Cargo?'
“Sealed cargo” will represent Bolivia at the Academy Awards.
Directed by Julia Vargas, the movie is a co-production with Venezuela and stars Gustavo Sanchez Parra and Luis Bredow. “Sealed Cargo” opened at the International Film Festival of India where it won the special jury award and also played at the Latin American Film Festival in Canada.
Bolivia has been submitting to the Academy since 1995 but has not done so consistently. The country has yet to land a nomination and two of their films have been disqualified for not complying with the rules. The last time Bolivia submitted to the Oscars was in 2014 for the film “Olvidados.” That film starred an international cast and had a theatrical run in the U.S last year.
Every year a number of countries submit films to compete in the Foreign Language Film category. a Number of Latin American countries have this year including Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay and Cuba. This year is shaping up to be a very competitive year with Denmark submitting "Land of Mine," Germany submitting the festival favorite "Toni Erdmann" and Spain submitting Pedro Almodovar's 20th film "Julieta." Other film that will likely be huge contenders include "House of Others," "Sieranevada," "The Ardennes," "Chevalier," "Mother., ""El Clasico," "From Afar" and "Neruda."
Last year the category went to Hungary for the harrowing Holocaust thriller "Son of Saul." The film made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival before going onto make an impact in the festival circuit.
The Foreign Language Film deadline to submit is Oct. 3. On Jan. 17 the Academy will announce the nine finalists from among the eligible films and on Jan. 24 nominations will be announced. The winner will be announced at the Oscar ceremony on Feb. 26.