We’ve got some exciting news of potential horror representation at next year’s Academy Awards, as Deadline is reporting that Guatemala has chosen director Jayro Bustamante‘s La Llorona as their selection for the 2021 International Oscar race. Mind you, this doesn’t mean the movie will end up nominated in the International Film category, but it’s the first step.
Of course, whether or not the film is actually selected as a nominee is ultimately in the hands of the Academy. Deadline also notes, “[La Llorona] is the second film by Bustamante to get his country’s Oscar submission, after his debut feature Ixcanul in 2015.”
La Llorona is a Shudder Original, debuting this past August. Yes, that means there’s a conceivable future wherein Shudder is up for an Oscar nomination next year. Here’s hoping!
Meagan Navarro wrote in her Sundance review of the film earlier this year, “Bustamante delivers a sobering evocation for justice, and in the case of La Llorona, it’s by the hands of a folkloric vengeance seeker.” You can check out Shudder’s official trailer down below.
“Indignant retired general Enrique finally faces trial for the genocidal massacre of thousands of Mayans decades ago. As a horde of angry protestors threatens to invade their opulent home, the women of the house—his haughty wife, conflicted daughter, and precocious granddaughter—weigh their responsibility to shield the erratic, senile Enrique against the devastating truths being publicly revealed and the increasing sense that a wrathful supernatural force is targeting them for his crimes. Meanwhile, much of the family’s domestic staff flees, leaving only loyal housekeeper Valeriana until a mysterious young Indigenous maid arrives.”
Maria Mercedes Coroy, Margarita Kenefic, Sabrina de la Hoz and Julio Diaz star.