The Oscars have traditionally been dominated by Hollywood movies. But the Academy has been more welcoming to foreign-language films in recent years. Four Latin American titles have been nominated for the 2024 Awards.

Hollywood

Four Latin American films have received nominations for the 2024 Oscars, marking a notable recognition for the region in an awards landscape that has predominantly featured Hollywood productions. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which has in recent years shown an increasing openness towards foreign-language films, has included these titles in its latest list of nominees.

This development underscores a growing inclusivity in the prestigious awards, reflecting a broader range of storytelling voices and perspectives on the global stage. The nominations highlight the talent and diverse narratives emerging from Latin America, contributing to a richer and more varied Oscars competition.



Oscar nominations for Latin American titles

This year, four Spanish-language films, two from Chile and two from Spain, are nominated for Oscars in different categories, including Best International Film. It shouldn't be surprising. In terms of native speakers, Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world, after Chinese. But while filmmakers from Spain receive generous government incentives for their projects, in Latin America, they're struggling. The Infinite Memory, a touching Chilean film about Alzheimer's disease and love, has been nominated for Best Documentary. Yet obtaining public funding to get that project off the ground was nearly impossible. We aren't considered an industry, rather an activity at the moment, because if we were regarded as an industry, we would have initial support from the public sector, which should realize that we provide employment, economic impact, and prestige for the country. Despite its recognized talent, there are little or no economic incentives for Latin America's film industry, with the exception, perhaps, of Colombia and Mexico. Argentina's right-wing government has just slashed all funding for cultural activities, including the country's prestigious film school. We are being stigmatized as though we live off public funds and are taking milk, bread, and education away from the mouths of poor children. It makes it very hard to receive support from society, which is being deprived of our culture. With little public and private support from home, Latin America's most talented filmmakers turn to Hollywood or American platforms like HBO or Netflix. The great empires have always understood the role of culture, and, in that sense, we have been colonized by the foreign entertainment industry. It's great. We enjoy it. But we also need room for other cultures to express themselves, so that we can recognize our diversity as a human race. That is what I think gives relevance to the Chilean films in the world. Even when local filmmakers manage to complete a movie, getting them shown is a major challenge. In Chile, for example, there's only one distributor for locally made films. Nearly all the rest are from the United States. And so, not surprisingly, nearly all of the movies that are shown in international movie chains like this one are also from the U.S. Even if you can get your local movie through the door here, with rare exceptions, it's taken off the listing almost as soon as it gets on. That is, unless they're nominated for an Oscar. So while the lack of local resources and political will from the public sector persist, the chances of that happening will continue to be few and far between. Lucia Newman, Al Jazeera, Santiago.

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