Oscars: Venezuelan Submissions

A handsome young man is released from jail and goes to "El Pez Que Fuma", a bordello in the outskirts of Caracas. La Garza, its middle-aged owner, hires the young man as handy man, but soon he takes the place of the administrator, who is also La Garza's lover.

A young girl is sent to a South American hacienda, where she learns about the life of her reclusive aunt, Oriana

At early 16th century a priest joins the Spanish colonizers in order to bring Christianity to the indios. The expedition is murdered by the indios, only the priest is sparred. Santiago, the priest, first tries to continue christianization, but finally becomes one of them - until the Spaniards return.

A fugitive bursts into the home of two Catholic nuns. In an attempt to save his life, they hide him from the marauding military patrols, despite the danger they face if they are caught.

Jairo, sick of living on the fringes of society, fed up with poverty and a terrible family life, enters the world of crime as a Hired Assassin. Once he is really deep into the world of killing for money and dying if necessary, he decides to change the course of his life. But it is too late: he is on a road of no return, and there is no way he can escape his fate.

The story of Romer, who on his 50th birthday, returns to the Andes where he grew up after he has a premonition that his mother has died. On his journey he comes to a fork in the road, and takes a path which leads him to revisit his past--an upbringing in a remote traditional community which fiercely protects its ancient customs from modernity.

Oliver, an 11-year-old boy thrown out of his home by his abusive stepfather, joins a gang of street children and is exposed to narcotics, violence and sexual predators, and the world of crime seems to be the only road available.

The town of Papayal is located in the Amazon jungle. It is ruled by violence, greed and vice. It has grown around mines where gold is extracted, and where mercury has severely destroyed the environment. Apart from the local bar and brothel, the settlers have nothing to do but work on the mines. Every once in a while a man called Fellini arrives and projects films. One day the mother of teenager Isabel and her lover steal the gold from miner El Gallego and flee from Papayal. The girl is forced to pay their debt, by working on the brothel. Isabel tries to escape, but she is caught by the police, and meets Cae, a young man who is bought by a trader to work in the gold mines. Back on Papayal, Isabel falls in love with Cae, who tells her that both her mother and her lover have been killed.

In the foothills of the Andes, the dreams of a widowed father and his son shelter their quiet relationship from the cruelty of neighbors, until a desperate act of violence tears them apart. It takes the brave intervention of a stranger to reunite them once again in the place of their dreams.

In a tiny town in an unnamed Latin American country in the 1930s, a young telegraph operator helps link the small, repressed community to the outside world, against the will of the powerful colonel who rules the village like a dictator.

"Punto y raya" is the story of a young Colombian recruit who, while patrolling his country's border, is befriended by a Venezuelan adversary, and the tragic consequences of their relationship.

"1888: The Extraordinary Voyage of The Santa Isabel" is a whimsical adventure fantasy about a tired Jules Verne, fleeing from Paris and a bored wife, who joins Italian explorer Stradelli in an expedition on the Orinoco river. Along the way they pickup a young stranger- a woman disguised as a man, searching for her lost father.

An 11 year old petty criminal gets the chance to play in a youth orchestra.

A young woman gives birth to a daughter while living in secrecy. The daughter and her cousin Teo cope with the fear and violence of their parents' struggle. They also wait for postcards from Leningrad, a place they feel is a safe haven.

Magaly enters a TV contest looking for Marilyn Monroe look-alikes, pressured by her husband and a money prize of $25,000 to help them overcome their precarious financial situation. In the process of becoming Marilyn Monroe, Magaly suffers an identity crisis that mimics the life of the mythical blonde.

An honest motorcycle-taxi driver and law-abiding citizen, Libertador Morales dons a disguise to become El Justiciero, an avenging motorcycle hero who foils the crime spree of a local street gang in Caracas.

Two young men who have been raised as brothers look to their soccer skills as a way of getting out of their slum. While a scout is in town, an act of violence threatens to tear them apart.

Delia survived a river-flood ten years ago. She's trying to rebuilt her life but she soon discovers danger is over her two sons. But hope of reconstruction is possible, because the force of love,despite all, keep them united.

Christian kidnaps Hector's son by mistake, unleashing a chain of delicate events that will be tragic for everyone involved.

Adolescent and from a modest neighborhood, Ana has spent her years in front of a sewing machine, working to support her two younger brothers and silently enduring the abuse of a pervert stepfather and an indifferent mother. Her hearing impairment has made marginalized her in a world that refuses to listen to her, becoming her in an object of use of who are around her. Unable to resign herself that her brothers will suffer the same fate, Ana decides to save them, embarking on a trip to freedom.

Simon Bolivar fought over 100 battles against the Spanish Empire in South America. He rode over 70,000 miles on horseback. His military campaigns covered twice the territory of Alexander the Great. His army never conquered -- it liberated.

Dauna dared to be different. She faced the ancestral practices of her culture and she paid the price. She made decisions which made herself suffer and others as well. Without giving up before defeats and loses, these led her to reconcile and become part of a legend herself.