Patagonia to represent the UK at the Oscars

BAFTA’s film committee has chosen Welsh director Marc Evans’s Patagonia to represent the UK at the next-year’s Oscars in the foreign-language category.

Patagonia tells two stories in Parallel: one of a Welsh couple who travels to Argentina in order to reinvigrate their relationship and another of a Patagonian woman, who comes to Wales in search of her roots.

The UK enters the foreign-language Oscar race in years when it sees a good a chance for a contender to win. The most recent submission was “Afghan Star” in 2009.

Patagonia is the 7th Welsh film to represent the UK in the glamorous award show. Two of the previous pictures, “Hedd Wynn” in 1993 and “Solomon and Gaenor” in 1999, received Oscar nomination.

In total, the UK has submitted nine films to the annual competition in the past 20 years, but none has won the award.

Patagonia played in several film festivals, before getting a small UK theatrical release this March, grossing £50,000.