Colombia has selected Ciro Guerra‘s Embrace of the Serpent as its entry in the Best Foreign Language category for the 87th Academy Awards.
Guerra’s film won the Art Cinema Award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and has played at multiple festivals around the world receiving critical acclaim. Variety’s Justin Chang called the pic, “Blistering and poetic, not just an ethnographic study but also a striking act of cinematic witness.”
The film centers on the relationship that develops between an Amazonian wise man and a German scientist seeking to learn from the indigenous people’s practices. Shot in black-and-white the film is said to be a visual delight as well as a poignant exploration on the horror of colonialism.
Oscilloscope recently bought U.S. rights to the film. The company is also behind the U.S release of another Oscar hopeful in the Best Foreign Language category: Brazil’s The Second Mother.
Guerra has previously represented his homeland in two occasions with his films Wandering Shadows and The Wind Journeys. The South American nation has never been nominated for the award.
To date over 40 countries have submitted films to be considered for the upcoming 2015 Academy Awards.The deadline to submit entries for foreign-language film is Oct. 1.
