Lucrecia Martel’s first feature in nine years may earn her an Academy Award nomination. Argentina has submitted “Zama” as their foreign-language Oscar pick, The Hollywood Reporter confirms. The writer-director’s last film, 2008’s “The Headless Woman,” was named Best Film by the Argentinean Academy, and Martel also picked up honors for writing and directing the thriller.
An adaptation of Antonio Di Benedetto’s 1956 novel of the same name, “Zama” is set in the 18th century and centers on a Spanish officer (Daniel Gimenez Cacho, “The Promise”) stationed in a remote South American town awaiting a transfer to Buenos Aires. The Spanish-language epic made its world premiere at this year’s Venice Film Festival and is currently screening at the New York Film Festival.
The last woman-directed film Argentina submitted in the foreign-language Oscar race was Lucía Puenzo’s “The German Doctor,” which failed to earn a nom at the 2014 ceremony.
Other films in the running for this category at the 2018 Oscars include Roya Sadat’s “A Letter to the President,” a drama about an official grappling with tribal laws, Angelina Jolie’s “First They Killed My Father,” an adaptation of human rights activist Loung Ung’s non-fiction book, and Annemarie Jacir’s “Wajib,” a dramedy about a father and his estranged son.
