Here is a rundown of the 16 films submitted from North and South America. I've managed to see half.
BEST OF THE REGION:
HAITI- "Kidnapping Inc." Okay, hear me out......Is "Kidnapping Inc." going to win an Oscar? No. Is it this year's best example of serious "auteur cinematic filmmaking" on the Oscar longlist? No, not at all! Is it the most entertaining film? Does it have the best cinematic backstory? Yes, definitely.
Made on a shoestring budget in one of the world's most dangerous countries by a director who clearly loves making movies, "Kidnapping Inc." is a comedy-thriller about two low-level thugs involved in a series of high-level kidnappings. Production on the film was halted several times due to (1)- political instability, (2)- the COVID-19 pandemic, and (3)- the actual real-life kidnapping of several members of the crew. At several points, it seemed certain that the film would never be finished....but first-time director Bruno Mourral somehow persevered and rallied and made a messy, violent and deliriously fun thriller. If it was made in Hollywood, it would doubtlessly be a big commercial success....though Hollywood would probably make it lose the charm and energy of the Haitian actors. "Kidnapping Inc." is not a perfect film. There are so many subplots and tonal shifts that I'm not surprised that a lot of people get turned off. But it's funny, exciting and entertaining and packs a gut-punch of an ending.
It's available on Amazon and I recommend that everyone give it a try.
ECUADOR- "Chuzalongo"- Another film that hasn't gotten the best notices but that I personally loved. "Chuzalongo" is a Gothic fairy tale....if the Brothers Grimm took a trip to 19th century Ecuador. Drawing on themes from indigenous Quechua mythology, colonial race relations and good old-fashioned horror movie tropes (especially folk horror and vampires), "Chuzalongo" is the story of a mysterious, mute little boy who suddenly arrives in a drought-stricken village in Ecuador. The boy's arrival seems to have a magical effect on the local crops....but the miracle comes with a heavy price. Apparently a "chuzalongo" is a real mythological creature in South American folklore known for its ugly appearance and mischievous behavior, but the film rewrites the legend to make it childlike...and thus in many ways scarier. I loved the dark atmosphere of the film and the bloody finale.
And here's the rest:
ARGENTINA- "Belen" Belen is a solid, well-made film based on the true story of a young woman who went to the hospital with severe stomach pain and ended up unjustly imprisoned for nearly three years after police claimed she was involved in an illegal abortion. It's well-made but felt more "TV movie of the week" than I expected for this supposed frontrunner. The film felt very much like "Argentina 1985" which of course did get an Oscar nomination. It definitely could make the shortlist, especially now that it's on Amazon Prime.
CANADA- "The Things You Kill"- Some really cool ideas come and go in this confusing Turkish-language thriller representing Canada....It often felt the director was trying to channel the late David Lynch...and like Lynch, there are some really intriguing moments (was his mother's death an accident? a cold-blooded murder?) and others that just do not seem to make any kind of sense. A lot of reviews seem to indicate that they understood more when they rewound the film, or watched it a second time...Well, most of the time that's not an option if you're watching in the cinema so I just found the film a bit frustrating.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC- "Pepe" Honestly, this ridiculous waste of time is probably the worst film I've ever seen....ever. Blank screens, disembodied voices, random disconnected scenes of people chatting and wildlife footage of hippopotamuses....Awarding this Best Director in Berlin cheapened the whole festival for me. More below.
PANAMA- "Beloved Tropic" This is a very sweet, very small film about a wealthy Chilean woman with dementia (played by the absolutely brilliant Chilean actress Paulina Garcia from "Gloria") and her caretaker....a Colombian immigrant to Panama who we learn early on is faking a pregnancy. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the film....but it follows a fairly predictable arc and isn't particularly memorable.
PARAGUAY- "Under the Flags, the Sun" This meticulously researched documentary is an exceptionally difficult film to rate. Are you interesting in modern Paraguayan history? I am. I visited Paraguay in 2023 and I've read what is probably the only travelogue/history/comedy book about Paraguay ("At the Tomb of the Inflatable Pig: Travels Through Paraguay"). The makers of "Under the Flags, the Sun" have delved through hundreds (thousands?) of hours of documentary and news footage from news archives around the world to analyze the Stroessner dictatorship that ruled Paraguay from 1954-1989. It's always interesting (to me) but I think it's a very academic work that won't appeal to those who don't know anything about the country. I liked it.
PERU- "Kinra" Oh dear....All I'll say is that this movie about a young Quechua youth drifting from his rural community to the city wasn't for me. Long, static shots that make me check and see whether the movie has frozen.....random conversations about growing potatoes and filling out forms on the Internet.....Very little character development.....just cinema verite of (improvised?) scenes with non-professional actors.....What makes things especially difficult is that the film is nearly three hours long and that so little happens. I couldn't get interested in this film at all but it's clear the director had such love and affection for this story and its characters.
Number of Countries Participating this year: 16
Number of Countries That Have Participated in the
Past: 22
Who’s Missing?: Well, poor PUERTO RICO is no
longer invited (though they were invited to the Goyas last year) so the only
major country missing is CUBA, though they had a very weak film year and
have only sent films to the Oscars two of the past five years.
Also out: GUATEMALA (they formed a committee but probably didn't have films eligible), HONDURAS (last entered in 2020), NICARAGUA (last entered in 2010) and SURINAME (submitted once in 2020).
FRONTRUNNERS:
1. 
BRAZIL- "The Secret Agent" (Letterboxd: 3.9)
2. 
ARGENTINA- "Belén" (3.9)
The two South American superpowers- Brazil and Argentina- have potential contenders. Brazil is back as returning champion for the first time ever with "The Secret Agent", a buzzy thriller set during the dictatorship (like last year's winner) that won Best Director and Best Actor at Cannes. The film has excellent reviews but I've heard the film is very cerebral and I think it could be a surprise snub on nomination morning in such a competitive year (though "Zone of Interest" and "Drive My Car") was cerebral). But for the shortlist, it's pretty much a lock. Less so "Belen". As mentioned, this legal drama is a bit "movie of the week" but its Amazon distribution and baity subject matter (abortion) will help. \
DARK HORSES
3. 
COLOMBIA- "Un poeta" (A Poet) (4.0)
4. 
CHILE- "La misteriosa mirada del flamenco" (The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo) (3.8)
5. 
MEXICO- "No nos moverán" (We Shall Not Be Moved) (3.7)
Comedy-drama "Un poeta" arguably has the best reviews of this group (I've personally heard better things about "A Poet" than "Secret Agent" and "Belen") but considerably less buzz....It's truly on the bubble for one of the last spots on the 15-film shortlist. This dark comedy is about a misanthropic, talented but unemployed poet who ends up mentoring a teenaged (and possibly more talented?) girl. I haven't seen it yet but if voters were required to see all the eligible films, then "A Poet" should make the finals easily.
Previous winners CHILE and MEXICO should place well (though we'll never know) but aren't likely to make the Final 15. Mexico picked another black comedy "We Shall Not Be Moved" about a woman investigating the murder of her brother from fifty years before, which she believes was committed by government forces. It has good reviews but it was somewhat of a surprise choice for Mexico and I've heard that the film is divisive.
Queer AIDS parable "The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo" won the Un Certain Regard award at Cannes and it's one of those films that I'm trying not to read about before I see it. Set in a mining town in the 1980s where a mysterious new disease is rumored to be spread by gay men, reviews are generally excellent but the film has lost some of the buzz it earned earlier during the year.
MIDDLE OF THE PACK
6. 
CANADA- "The Things You Kill" (3.5)
7. 
URUGUAY- "Agarrame fuerte" (Don't You Let Me Go) (3.6)
8. 
PARAGUAY- "Bajo las banderas, el sol" (Under the Flags, the Sun) (3.9)
9. 
ECUADOR- "Chuzalongo" (3.2)
10. 
BOLIVIA- "La casa del sur" (approx. 3.2)
I've seen CANADA (too confusing), ECUADOR (Oscar doesn't like horror films, even when they are well-done like this one) and PARAGUAY (too niche/specialized) and don't think they are likely to advance.
URUGUAY's spare 71-minute drama about a woman dealing with grief following the death of her freind is supposed to be very good, but almost certainly too small. It did manage a surprise Goya nomination earlier this year. And BOLIVIA, which was one of the last countries to announce their submission, picked an obscure drama that looks like it was shelved for four years after its 2021 premiere....."La casa del sur" tells the story of a woman who returns to the home she fled during Bolivia's military dictatorship. Absolutely nobody has seen it, it has barely gotten any festival play and its just here to wave the Bolivian flag. I do think it looks good (but very quiet) and I look forward to seeking it out. When I lived in Bolivia, the province this film takes place in (Tarija) was one of my favorite weekend spots.
NO CHANCE
11. 
HAITI- "Kidnapping Inc." (3.3)
12. 
PANAMA- "Querido trópico" (Beloved Tropic) (3.6)
13. 
COSTA RICA- "El monaguillo, el cura y el jardinero" (The Altar Boy, the Priest and the Gardener) (approx. 3.8)
14. 
PERU- "Kinra" (3.5)
15. 
VENEZUELA- "Alí Primera" (approx. 2.2)
I've already spoken about the three films that I've seen- HAITI sent a great film but it's too low-budget and lightweight to be considered. PANAMA is more serious but even more lightweight. It's a sweet, simple story that won't be remembered amongst 80+ films. PERU is a challenging watch that is terribly overlong.
COSTA RICA's "The Altar Boy, the Priest and the Gardener" is an expose of a Catholic church scandal that shocked Costa Rica, about an adult victim who launches a legal case against the church who abused him when he was a minor. Word of mouth is good but this is probably the most obscure film on the longlist. There's hardly a single review online and it has no chance of getting noticed. As for VENEZUELA, musician biopic "Ali Primera" is described as pro-Chavez, leftist propaganda. It looks well-made but this sort of jingoistic film about an important national figure that Americans have never heard of won't have any chance of advancing.
WORST MOVIE EVER MADE?
16. 
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC- "Pepe" (3.3)
Good God.....I had to watch this terrible waste of time in three or four sittings and came so close to giving up. Nearly plotless. "Pepe" is supposedly story of a hippo that escape from drug lord Pablo Escobar's private compound of exotic animals. The hippo speaks in a monotone that sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard (similar to the disembodied voice from last year's "Dahomey") but most of the film is random scenes of village life, wildlife footage of wild hippos with laughable voiceovers and pseudo-philosophical bullshit. It truly may be the worst movie ever made.
FUN FACTS:
Genres: Two
documentaries (Costa Rica and Paraguay), one horror film (Ecuador), three
genre-bending comedies (Colombia, Haiti and Mexico) and two sort of thrillers
(Brazil, Canada). And one WTF experimental complete waste of time (Dominican Republic). The
rest are straight dramas.
I’ve Already Seen: I’ve seen seven of the sixteen
films- Canada, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Paraguay and Peru and
I plan to see Argentina this month.
Film I’m Most Excited To See: Definitely Colombia’s
buzzy “Un poeta”
Number I Predicted Correctly: More than half….9/16-
Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Haiti, Panama, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Only Bolivia and Venezuela took me completely by surprise.
Big Four Festivals:
· Berlin- Dominican
Republic (Best Director, 2024), Paraguay
· Cannes- Brazil
(Best Actor & Director), Chile (Un Certain Regard, Grand Prize), Colombia
(Jury Prize, Un Certain Regard)
· Sundance- Canada
(Best Director, International), Haiti
· Venice- None
Women Directors- 4/16 (25%) films were directed
or co-directed by women: Ana Endara (Panama), Dolores Fonzi (Argentina),
Ana Guevara and Leticia Jorge (both Uruguay) and Carina Oroza (Bolivia)
Oldest and Youngest Directors- I’m not 100% sure but
I think the oldest is Ramiro Fierro, 59, the Colombian co-director of La
casa del sur (Bolivia). The youngest
is 30-year old Diego Céspedes (Chile).Languages – As always, Spanish dominates this
region. Nine are entirely in Spanish, three more (Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Paraguay) are mostly in Spanish and one (Peru) is 50% Quechua and 50% Spanish. The
rest are in Haitian Creole/French (Haiti), Portuguese (Brazil) and Turkish (Canada).
How Many Have a Chance at the Shortlist?- Five?
Most Likely to Get Nominated/Shortlisted for the First
Time- Uruguay…But that’s absolutely not going to happen.
Buzziest Films: Definitely “The Secret Agent”
Letterboxd Ratings (as of November 4, 2025): Best:
Colombia (4.0), Worst: Venezuela (c. 2.3)
Dumbest Decision: Hmm….I think five
countries probably could have made better choices (including Bolivia, Canada
and Peru), but I’d only classify DOMINICAN REPUBLIC and VENEZUELA as
“dumb”. “Pepe”, as I mentioned earlier, is the worst film I’ve ever seen and “La
Bachata de Bionico” was honored at SXSW so that wins for the dumbest
move.
Controversies and Changes: None that I know of. The
Haitian film was actually submitted last year but Haiti did not have a
recognized Oscar selection committee and AMPAS allowed it to enter the
following year.
Oscar History:
No previous Oscar nominees were submitted this year, although
Sebastian Lelio tried to represent Chile and I imagine Philippe Falardeau
probably tried to represent Canada.
Three directors have competed here before. Kleber Mendonça
Filho (Brazil) was submitted for the third time (“Neighboring Sounds” and
“Pictures of Ghosts”). Nelson Carlo de Los Santos Arias (Dominican Republic)
and Leticia Jorge (Uruguay) are here for the second time, following “Cocote”
and “Alelí” respectively.
Of the 16 countries, five have won the Oscar (Argentina,
Brazil, Canada, Chile and Mexico), two others have been
nominated (Colombia and Peru), and two shortlisted (Panama and
Venezuela). The other seven are waiting for their first trip to the second round,
most notably including Uruguay (despite their “Place in the World” debacle).
Most Notable Omissions:
Also out: “The Virgin of the Quarry Lake” (Argentina), “The
Dog Thief” (Bolivia), “Vitoria” (Brazil), “Two Women” (Canada), “La ola”
(Chile), “Bionico’s Bachata” (Dominican Republic), “Nanito” (Peru), “Dogs”
(Uruguay), and “Zafari” (considered by both Peru and Venezuela)
Most Famous Face: No big stars this
year….Probably Wagner Moura from “The Secret Agent”
Last Year’s Race: Out of last year’s 16 entries, I managed to see all the films except Bolivia and Panama. In terms of filmmaking, I can agree that “I’m Still Here” (A-) was beautifully acted and deserved its Oscar win, although it was not my favorite from the group. I really enjoyed “Aire”, the commercial sci-fi film from the Dominican Republic (A-), though I do understand that nobody else did. I also thought “In Her Place” and “Back to Life” (both B+) were better than most and, though it's a very difficult watch, I was very impressed Jayro Bustamente's exceptional filmmaking of orphanage drama “Rita” (A-). The other nine were flawed: “Memories of a Burning Body” (B+), “Behind the Mist” (B+), “The Door is There” (B; educational but more an academic discussion than a film), “Yana-Wara” (B-), “Los ultimos” (B-), “Sujo” (B-), “La Suprema” (B-), “Universal Language” (C; overrated) and “El Jockey” (brilliant beginning but gets more and more ridiculous as it goes on; C-)
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