Argentina's Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences chose Laura Casabé's horror film "The Virgin of the Quarry Lake" ("La virgen de la tosquera") as the country's submission for Best International Feature Film at the 2027 Academy Awards.
The film adapts two stories by Mariana Enriquez, "The Virgin of the Quarry Lake" and "The Cart," from her 2009 collection "The Dangers of Smoking in Bed," with a screenplay by Benjamín Naishtat. Set in the Buenos Aires suburbs in the summer after the December 2001 economic collapse, it follows Natalia, a teenager whose jealousy over a childhood friend leads her toward spells and supernatural forces learned from her grandmother. Dolores Oliverio plays Natalia in her screen debut.
The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2025 and won four awards at the Buenos Aires International Independent Film Festival (BAFICI), including the grand jury prize. It beat three other finalists: Juan José Campanella's "Parque Lezama" and two documentaries, Lucrecia Martel's "Landmarks" ("Nuestra tierra") and "The Match" ("El partido"), by Juan Cabral and Santiago Franco.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will announce a 15-film shortlist on December 15, with nominations on January 21 and the ceremony on March 14, 2027. Argentina's previous submission, Dolores Fonzi's "Belén," reached the shortlist but was not nominated. The country has won the category twice, with "The Official Story" in 1986 and "The Secret in Their Eyes" in 2010.