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Chile’s Oscar entry, “Blanquita” by Fernando Guzzoni, is based on the infamous “Spiniak Case,” the exposure in the early 2000s of a child prostitution/pedophilia ring involving powerful Chilean politicians and businessmen. After a year-long investigation of the case, Guzzoni zeroed in on the most interesting character in the child sex scandal, Gema Bueno, a key witness whose story began to unravel as prosecutors began to poke holes in her testimony.

In his thought-provoking thriller, Guzzoni bases his titular character Blanquita on Bueno. Played by Laura Lopez, Blanquita is now 18 and has returned to the shelter for victims of sexual violence with a baby in tow. Living there in exchange for domestic chores, she becomes the most credible witness in the case against the pedophile ring. Coaxed by the priest (Alejandro Goic) who runs the shelter, she claims to be a victim of sex trafficking and accuses a senator of participating in the ring.

L.A.-based Outsider Pictures, one of the most avid U.S. distributors of Spanish-language movies, has picked up Chile’s Oscar entry “Blanquita.”

“It’s a critical look at a sordid part of Chilean social history, but also a political thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat,” enthuses company’s founder and CEO Paul Hudson, who closed the deal, noting that the decision continues Outsider’s ongoing support of Latin-themed independent cinema.

The film, directed by Fernando Guzzoni, will be released theatrically in New York and Los Angeles on Dec. 9, 2022.

“Blanquita” celebrated its world premiere at Venice Film Festival in the Horizons section, scoring Guzzoni an award for best screenplay. It also won the Golden Colon for best film at Spain’s Huelva Latin America Film Festival.

Giancarlo Nasi of Quijote Films produced the affecting drama, with Pablo Zimbrón (Varios Lobos), Donato Rotunno (Tarantula), Pascal Guerrin,...

Keep track of all the submissions for best international feature at the 2023 Academy Awards.

Entries for the 2023 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.

Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry

An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.

Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 3, 2022.

A shortlist of 15 finalists is...

Keep track of all the submissions for best international feature at the 2023 Academy Awards.

Entries for the 2023 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.

Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry

An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.

Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 3, 2022.

A shortlist of 15 finalists is...

Keep track of all the submissions for best international feature at the 2023 Academy Awards.

Entries for the 2023 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.

Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry

An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.

Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 3, 2022.

A shortlist of 15 finalists is...

Exclusive: Chile has submitted Fernando Guzzoni’s Blanquita, exploring a real-life child prostitution scandal that rocked the country in the early 2000s, as its official entry to the best international film category of the Oscars.

The film was chosen as Chile’s official entry by members of the Chilean Film Academy, in its third selection since its creation in 2018.

“Once again we are witnessing both the quality and diversity of our cinema, as well as the criteria and commitment of our partners: 70 of them voted in this process, the most participatory since we as an Academy have been in charge of choosing the film that represents Chile at the Oscars”, said the body’s executive director Josefina Undurraga.

Blanquita world premiered in the Horizons section of the Venice Film Festival this year, winning the best screenplay prize for Guzzoni.

Big screen debutant Laura López stars as an 18-year-old resident of a foster home,...

Coinciding with its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, Warsaw-based New Europe Film Sales has provided Variety with an exclusive peek at the trailer for Chilean writer-director Fernando Guzzoni’s (“Jesus”) thriller, “Blanquita.”

Based on the young witness at the center of the Spinak case, a scandal involving Chilean pedophilia and prostitution networks that rocked the country, the film grapples with morality and the struggle towards justice for those without means.

In the film, Blanca (Laura López) leads investigators, and the public, on a baffling journey as she plants herself at the center of a trial against powerful politicians.

“I think that what seduced me about the case is how a girl who was an outsider kept the entire Chilean community on edge for almost a year,” relayed Guzzoni.

“Her appearance in the case seemed very performative to me and how she, to some extent, built a character that...