As many countries begin to submit their movie for consideration in the Best Foreign Film category for the Oscar, Mexico will have to decide from a list of 16 films which movie they will submit.
The current front-runner is "Heli," a film directed by Amat Escalante. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was met with rave reviews and surprised by winning the Best Director Award. The past three films submitted by Mexico premiered at Cannes and were all award winners. The fact that "Heli" won at Cannes only gives it an upper hand.
Another strong contender is "El Premio" by Paula Markovitch, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival. The film won awards at the Ariel (Mexico's Oscars) and at Berlin, as well as the Havana Film Festival.
"La Jaula de Oro" is another strong possibility given Mexico's latest trends. The movie also premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard sidebar and won "A Certain Talent Prize" for ensemble.
"La vida precoz y breve de Sabina Rivas" may also have a chance because it won Ariel awards. The film was featured at the Valladolid Film Festival where it won Best Actress.
"Cinco de Mayo, La Batalla," "Los Insolitos Peces Gato," "Entre la Noche y el Dia," "La Cebra" and "El Sueno de Liu" are also posibilities. However, neither premiered at big film festival making them dark horses.
"Las Paredes Hablan," "No Quiero Dormir Sola," "Tlatelolco, Verano del 68," "Mirada Multiples," "Diente por Diente" and "Apasionados Pancho Villa" may have the hardest time getting selected given their lack of international exposure.
However, the film that could surprise even though it is not a typical Academy Award film is "Instructions Not Included." The movie has become one of the top grossing foreign films of all time and has garnered a U.S. following. It also features one of the most famous Mexican actors, Eugenio Derbez, which may ultimately help the feature. However, the movie is a comedy and those types of films do not typically sit well with Academy Awards. Mexico wants to receive their ninth nomination and submitting this film could be a curse.
Mexico has been nominated eight times in the history of the Foreign Film Category. The movies nominated included "Biutiful," "Pan's Labyrinth," "Amores Perros" and "El Crimen del Padre Amaro."
The Mexican AMACC Academia will choose the official selection on September 18.