Argentine Academy picks ‘The Virgin of the Quarry Lake’ for Oscar competition

Laura Casabé’s “The Virgin of the Quarry Lake” will represent Argentina in the race for the 2027 Oscars, the Argentine Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences announced Monday.

The Academy announced its selection for the international feature category at an event at ArtHaus Central in Buenos Aires. The choice puts Casabé’s gritty coming-of-age story on the road to the 99th Academy Awards, although the selection does not guarantee an Oscar nomination. 

Casabé’s film will have to make it into a shortlist of 15 films that will ultimately bid for a nomination.

“The Virgin of the Quarry Lake” was selected from four films previously shortlisted by the Argentine Academy. The other contenders were: 

“The Match”, directed by Juan Cabral and Santiago Franco “Landmarks”, by Lucrecia Martel  “Parque Lezama”, directed by Juan José Campanella, who won an Oscar with “The Secret in Their Eyes” in 2010 Casabé’s film had already been selected by the Academy as the country’s entry for the 2027 Goya Awards in Spain, where it will compete in the Best Ibero-American Film category.

Desire as a social lens Based on two stories by Argentine horror writer Mariana Enriquez — “The Virgin of the Quarry Lake” and “The Cart,” from her 2009 collection “The Dangers of Smoking in Bed” — the film unfolds Enriquez’s unsettling vision in the Buenos Aires suburbs during the aftermath of Argentina’s 2001 economic and social crisis.

Adapted by Benjamin Naishtat, the film follows 18-year-old Natalia, played by Dolores Oliverio in her film debut, and her two closest friends, Mariela and Josefina. The three teenagers are fascinated by Diego, their childhood friend, but their tight-knit world is disrupted when Silvia, an older and more worldly woman, enters their orbit and captures his attention.

What begins as adolescent jealousy gradually takes a darker turn. Natalia’s desire to win Diego back becomes increasingly obsessive, eventually drawing her toward the supernatural and the dark powers summoned by her grandmother, Rita.

The Herald described “The Virgin of the Quarry Lake” as an atmospheric, dark take on “Carrie” set in the Buenos Aires suburbs, using adolescent desire as a lens through which to examine a society coming apart. Rather than relying primarily on jump scares, Casabé’s film finds its horror in desire, competition, violence and social rupture.

The film had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival before screening in Argentina at the Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema (BAFICI), where it won four awards, including the Grand Jury Prize in the Argentine competition. 

It also received a mention at the Leeds International Film Festival and won Best Cinematography at the Sitges Film Festival.

An Argentine-Mexican-Spanish co-production, the film stars Oliverio alongside Luisa Merelas, Fernanda Echevarría, Candela Flores, Isabel Bracamonte, Agustín Sosa and Dady Brieva.

Argentina’s previous Oscar submission was Dolores Fonzi’s “Belén”, which was selected by the Argentine Academy in 2025 after premiering at the San Sebastián Film Festival. It made the 15-film Oscar shortlist but failed to secure a nomination.

Restoration of “On Tuesdays, Orchids” At the event to announce Argentina’s Oscar candidate, producer Luis Scalella announced that the Argentine Academy will undertake a restoration project for the 1941 film “On Tuesdays, Orchids” (“Los martes, orquídeas”), together with the Audiovisual Heritage Society and Warner Bros. Discovery, with the collaboration of Argentina Sono Film. The restoration will be carried out at Cubic Restoration.

“On Tuesdays, Orchids” was directed by Francisco Mugica and marked Mirtha Legrand’s breakthrough leading role. Legrand is an honorary member of the Academy and has received its Lifetime Achievement Honor Award at the Sur Awards.