Argentina Backs Luis Ortega's Surreal Equestrian Comedy-Thriller Kill the jockey for the 2025 Oscar race in the Best Foreign Language Film category.
The film, which premiered in Venice, presents BPM stars Nahuel Pérez Biscayart as Remo Manfredini, a troubled jockey who begins to question his changing masculine identity after a serious accident on the track. When he disappears from the hospital and wanders the streets of Buenos Aires, trying to discover who he is truly meant to be, he is pursued by mafia boss Sirena (Daniel Gimenez Cacho), to whom he is deeply in debt, and who wants Remo found, dead or alive.
A mix between psychological thriller and comedy of manners, with a good dose of camp surrealism, the film will be a unique candidate for this season's Oscars.
Kill the jockey was produced by Ortega and Esteban Perroud via their El Despacho production label alongside Benjamín Domenech, Santiago Gallelli and Matías Roveda of Rei Pictures; Infinity Hill's Axel Kuschevatzky and Cindy Teperman; Charlie Cohen of Warner Music Entertainment and Nando Vila and Paz Lázaro of Exile. Benicio Del Toro is among the executive producers.
Protagonist Pictures is handling worldwide sales for the project.
Argentina has been nominated eight times for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, most recently for Santiago Mitre's political drama Argentina, 1985 in 2022 and won the Oscar twice.
The shortlist for Best International Feature Film will be revealed on December 17. Nominations will be announced on January 17, 2025. The 2025 Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, March 2.