Argentina has selected Luis Ortega’s well-received Cannes Film Festival crime drama The Angel (El Angel) as its contender for the Foreign Language Oscar. The film, produced by Pedro Almodóvar, broke box office records in its home country; The Orchard acquired U.S. rights after its Un Certain Regard bow and has set a November 9 theatrical release in New York and Los Angeles for the film before rolling it out nationally.
The pic from Ortega, who directed and co-wrote with Sergio Olguin and Rodolfo Palacios, is a portrait based on Argentina’s real-life serial killer dubbed “The Angel of Death.” The pic picks up the story when Carlitos (Lorenzo Ferro), a 17-year-old with movie star swagger, blond curls and a baby face in 1970s Buenos Aires, meets Ramon (Chino Darín) who embark on a journey of discovery, love and murder. When he is finally caught, the press dubs Carlitos “The Angel of Death and he becomes an overnight celebrity.
Related Stories
Here’s the trailer:
Watch on Deadline
Argentina won the Foreign Language Oscar in 2009 with The Secret in Their Eyes, and most recently scored a nom in the category in 2014 with Damián Szifron’s Wild Tales.
Here’s the list of the Oscar submissions so far in the category:
2019 Foreign Language Film Oscar Submissions
- Algeria – Until The End Of Time – Yasmine Chouikh
- Argentina– The Angel (El Angel) – Luis Ortega
- Austria – The Waldheim Waltz – Ruth Beckermann
- Belarus – Crystal Swan – Darya Zhuk
- Belgium – Girl – Lukas Dhont
- Bolivia – Muralla – Rodrigo Patiño
- Bosnia – Never Leave Me – Aida Begic
- Brazil – The Great Mystical Circus – Carlos Diegues
- Bulgaria – Omnipresent – Ilian Djevelekov
- Cambodia – Graves Without A Name – Rithy Pan
- Canada – Watch Dog – Sophie Dupuis
- Chile – And Suddenly The Dawn – Silvio Caiozzi
- Colombia– Birds of Passage, Cristina Gallego & Ciro Guerra
- Croatia – The Eighth Commissioner – Ivan Salaj
- Czech Republic – Winter Flies – Olmo Omerzu
- Denmark – The Guilty – Gustav Möller
- Dominican Republic – Cocote – Nelson Carlo de los Santos
- Ecuador – A Son Of Man – Jamaicanoproblem and Pablo Agüero
- Egypt – Yomeddine – Abu Bakr Shawky
- Estonia – Take It Or Leave It – Liina Trishkina-Vanhatalo
- Finland – Euthanizer – Teemu Nikin
- France – Memoir Of War – Emmanuel Finkiel
- Georgia – Namme – Zaza Khalvashi
- Germany – Never Look Away – Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
- Greece – Polyxeni – Dora Masklavanou
- Hong Kong – Polyxeni – Dora Masklavanou
- India – Village Rockstars – Rima Das
- Indonesia – Marlina The Murderer In Four Acts – Mouly Surya
- Iraq – The Journey – Mohamed Al-Daradji
- Iran – No Date, No Signature – Vahid Jalilvand
- Israel – The Cakemaker – Ofir Raul Grazier
- Italy – Dogman – Matteo Garrone
- Japan – Shoplifters – Hirokazu Kore-eda
- Kosovo – The Marriage – Blerta Zeqiri
- Latvia – To Be Continued – Ivars Seleckis
- Lebanon – Capernaum – Nadine Labaki
- Lithuania – Wonderful Losers: A Different World – Arunas Matelis
- Luxembourg – Gutland – Govinda Van Maele
- Macedonia: Secret Ingredient – Gjorce Stavreski
- Mexico – Roma – Alfonso Cuarón
- Morocco – Burnout – Nour Eddine Lakhmari
- Netherlands – The Resistance Banker – Joram Lürsen
- Norway – What Will People Say – Iram Haq
- Palestine – Ghost Hunting – Raed Andoni
- Pakistan – Cake – Asim Abbasi
- Panama – Ruben Blades Is Not My Name – Abner Benaim
- Peru – Eternity – Oscar Catacora
- Poland – Cold War – Pawel Pawlikowski
- Portugal – Peregrinação – João Botelho
- Romania – I Do Not Care If We Go Down In History As Barbarians – Radu Jude
- Serbia – Offenders – Dejan Zecevic
- Singapore – Buffalo Boys – Mike Wiluan
- Slovakia – The Interpreter – Martin Sulik
- Slovenia – Ivan – Janez Burger
- South Korea – Burning – Lee Chang-dong
- Spain – Champions – Javier Fesser
- Sweden – Border – Ali Abbasi
- Switzerland – Eldorado – Markus Imhoof
- Taiwan – The Grerat Buddha+ – Huang Hsin-Yao
- Thailand – Malila: The Farewell Flower – Anucha Boonyawatana
- Tunisia – Beauty And The Dogs – Kaouther Ben Hania
- Turkey – The Wild Pear Tree – Nuri Bilge Ceylan
- Ukraine – Donbass – Sergei Loznitsa
- UK – I Am Not A Witch – Rungano Nyoni
- Venezuela – The Family – Gustavo Rondon Cordova