Uruguay is one of two nations that will attempt to achieve a rare feat. The nation has gone against tradition and will attempt to get nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar with an animated film.
The nation's 2013 selection is "Anina," a film written and directed by Alfredo Soderguit. The film, which is 80 minutes in running time, was showcased at the Berlin International Film Festival in February and made its theatrical premiere in Uruguay on April 19, 2013. The film was also showcased at the Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema, where it won the Audience Award and was nominated for Best Film.
The IMDB page lists the synopsis as follows: "A fantastical journey into the world of a ten-year-old girl who, following a playground skirmish, is given the weirdest punishment in the history of weird punishments."
The film stars Federica Lacano in the title role, along with Maria Mendive, Cesar Toncoso, Cristina Moran, Petru Valenski and Roberto Suarez. This is Soderguit film's film as a director. He has served as the art director for three short films, according to his IMDB page.
"Anina" is the 13th Foreign Language film submission in Uruguay's history. The nation has had a rather unique experience with the Oscars. It first ever submission in 1992 was "A Place in the New World." The film was nominated for the category but was promptly disqualified when news broke out that the film had minimal Uruguay input and had been directed, filmed and featured Argentinean actors. Argentina wound up representing the film and finished second in voting. Aside from "A Place in the World," Uruguay has never earned a nomination in the category.
Other notable submissions for Uruguay include "The Pope's Toilet," "A Useful Life," "The Silent House" and "Whisky."