Argentina’s XXY Left Out Of Foreign Language Oscar Race

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced yesterday that nine films had made it to the next round of voting in the Best Foreign Language Film category for the 80th annual Academy Awards. Many in Argentina’s film industry had hoped that XXY, a recent movie by Argentine writer and director Lucía Puenzo, would make the cut. It didn’t.

The film, which was largely panned by the public, won acclaim from many critics. It picked up six awards from la Academia de Artes Cinematográficas de la Argentina, including Best Film, Best Debut Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best New Actress and Best Supporting Actor.

The film tells the tale of a teenage hermaphrodite. The Argentine Film Arts and Sciences Academy had chosen it out of 79 candidates, including the much more popular La Señal, which also starred well-known actor Ricardo Darín.

Argentine films have been nominated five times to win the Best Foreign Language Film category, according to The Film Experience, which tracks these things. That means Argentina ranks 17th worldwide in this category.

First in this group is France, whose films have been nominated for an Oscar 34 times and have won on nine occasions. Italy ranks second with 27 nominations and 10 wins while Spain is third, with 19 nods and 4 wins.

Argentina won the Oscar in 1985 with The Official Story, starring Norma Aleandro.

Link: XXY Official Site