List of Latin American Academy Award winners and nominees
A list of Latin American Academy Award winners and nominees appears below. This account does not include individuals born in the continental United States, and is current as of the 88th Academy Awards ceremony held on February 28, 2016.
Best Actor – Leading Role
This list focuses on Latin American-born actors.
Actor | |||||
Year | Name | Country | Film | Status | Milestone/Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1950 | José Ferrer | Cyrano de Bergerac | Won | First Latino actor to win an Academy Award. First Latino actor to be nominated more than once. | |
1952 | José Ferrer | Moulin Rouge | Nominated | ||
1957 | Anthony Quinn | Wild Is the Wind | Nominated | ||
1964 | Anthony Quinn | Zorba the Greek | Nominated | ||
2011 | Demián Bichir | A Better Life | Nominated |
Best Actor – Supporting Role
This list focuses on Latin American-born actors.
Supporting Actor | |||||
Year | Name | Country | Film | Status | Milestone/Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1948 | José Ferrer | Joan of Arc | Nominated | First Latino actor to be nominated for an acting Academy Award. | |
1952 | Anthony Quinn | Viva Zapata! | Won | First Mexican actor to win an Academy Award. | |
1956 | Anthony Quinn | Lust for Life | Won | First Mexican, and Latino, to win two Oscars in the same category. | |
1990 | Andy García | The Godfather Part III | Nominated | ||
2000 | Benicio del Toro | Traffic | Won | First and only actor to win for a Spanish-speaking role. | |
2003 | Benicio del Toro | 21 Grams | Nominated |
Best Actress – Leading Role
This list focuses on Latin American-born actress.
Actress | |||||
Year | Name | Country | Film | Status | Milestone/Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1998 | Fernanda Montenegro | Central Station | Nominated | First Latin American to be nominated for Best Actress and first actress to be nominated for a Portuguese-speaking role. | |
2002 | Salma Hayek | Frida | Nominated | First Mexican Actress to be nominated for Best Actress. | |
2004 | Catalina Sandino Moreno | Maria Full of Grace | Nominated | First Colombian to be nominated for an Academy Award and first actress to be nominated for a Spanish-speaking role. | |
Best Actress – Supporting Role
This list focuses on Latin American-born actresses.
Actress | |||||
Year | Name | Country | Film | Status | Milestone/Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1954 | Katy Jurado | Broken Lance | Nominated | First Latin American and Mexican Actress to be nominated for Best Supporting Actress. | |
1961 | Rita Moreno | West Side Story | Won | First Puerto Rican to be nominated and win for Best Supporting Actress. | |
1987 | Norma Aleandro | Gaby: A True Story | Nominated | First Argentine Actress to be nominated for Best Supporting Actress. | |
2006 | Adriana Barraza | Babel | Nominated | Second Mexican Actress to be nominated for Best Supporting Actress. | |
2011 | Bérénice Bejo | The Artist | Nominated | Second Argentine Actress to be nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Bejo is an Argentine-born French actress. | |
2014 | Lupita Nyong'o | 12 Years a Slave (film) | Won | First Mexican actress to win for Best Supporting Actress. Nyong'o is a Mexican-born Kenyan actress. | |
Best Art Direction
This list focuses on Latin American-born art directors.
Art Direction | |||||
Year | Name | Country | Film | Status | Milestone/Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1942 | Emile Kuri | Silver Queen | Nominated | Nominated with Ralph Berger. | |
1949 | Emile Kuri | The Heiress | Won | Nominated with Harry Horner and John Meehan. | |
1952 | Emile Kuri | Carrie | Nominated | Nominated with Roland Anderson and Hal Pereira. | |
1954 | Emile Kuri | 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea | Won | Nominated with John Meehan. | |
Executive Suite | Nominated | Nominated with Edward C. Carfagno, Cedric Gibbons and Edwin B. Willis. | |||
1961 | Emile Kuri | The Absent-Minded Professor | Nominated | Nominated with Carroll Clark and Hal Gausman. | |
1964 | Emile Kuri | Mary Poppins | Nominated | Nominated with Carroll Clark, Hal Gausman and William H. Tuntke. | |
1971 | Emile Kuri | Bedknobs and Broomsticks | Nominated | Nominated with Peter Ellenshaw, Hal Gausman and John B. Mansbridge. | |
1995 | Eugenio Zanetti | Restoration | Won | ||
1996 | Brigitte Broch | Romeo + Juliet | Nominated | Broch is a Germany-born Mexican art director. | |
1998 | Eugenio Zanetti | What Dreams May Come | Nominated | Nominated with Cindy Carr. | |
2001 | Brigitte Broch | Moulin Rouge! | Won | Nominated with Catherine Martin. | |
2002 | Felipe Fernández del Paso Hania Robledo |
Frida | Nominated | ||
2006 | Eugenio Caballero | Pan's Labyrinth | Won | (original title: El laberinto del fauno) Nominated with Pilar Revuelta. |
Best Cinematography
This list focuses on Latin American-born cinematographers.
Cinematography | |||||
Year | Name | Country | Film | Status | Milestone/Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1964 | Gabriel Figueroa | The Night of the Iguana | Nominated | The Academy Award category was "Best Cinematography – Black-and-White". | |
1995 | Emmanuel Lubezki | A Little Princess | Nominated | ||
1999 | Emmanuel Lubezki | Sleepy Hollow | Nominated | ||
2003 | César Charlone | City of God | Nominated | César Charlone is an Uruguayan-born Brazilian director. | |
2005 | Emmanuel Lubezki | The New World | Nominated | ||
Rodrigo Prieto | Brokeback Mountain | Nominated | |||
2006 | Emmanuel Lubezki | Children of Men | Nominated | ||
Guillermo Navarro | Pan's Labyrinth | Won | (original title: El laberinto del fauno) | ||
2008 | Claudio Miranda | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | Nominated | ||
2011 | Emmanuel Lubezki | The Tree of Life | Nominated | ||
2012 | Claudio Miranda | Life of Pi | Won | ||
2013 | Emmanuel Lubezki | Gravity | Won | ||
2014 | Emmanuel Lubezki | Birdman | Won | ||
2015 | Emmanuel Lubezki | The Revenant | Won |
Best Director
This list focuses on Latin American-born directors.
Director | |||||
Year | Name | Country | Film | Status | Milestone |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1985 | Héctor Babenco | Kiss of the Spider Woman | Nominated | Babenco is an Argentine-born Brazilian director. | |
2003 | Fernando Meirelles | City of God | Nominated | ||
2006 | Alejandro González Iñárritu | Babel | Nominated | ||
2013 | Alfonso Cuarón | Gravity | Won | First Latin American director to win Best Director. | |
2014 | Alejandro González Iñárritu | Birdman | Won | First Latin American director to have multiple Best Director nominations | |
2015 | Alejandro González Iñárritu | The Revenant | Won | First Latin American director to win two Oscars |
Best Documentary Feature
This list focuses on documentary features directed by Latin American-born filmmakers.
Best Documentary Feature | |||||
Year | Film | Country | Director | Status | Milestone/Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1957 | Torero! | Manuel Barbachano Ponce | Nominated | Producer Manuel Barbachano Ponce was nominated instead of director Carlos Velo, also Mexican. | |
1969 | The Olympics in Mexico | Alberto Isaac | Nominated | The Organizing Committee of the XIX Summer Olympic Games was nominated, and not Isaac. | |
1981 | El Salvador: Another Vietnam | |
Tetê Vasconcellos Glenn Silber |
Nominated | Shared with Glenn Silber |
1985 | The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo | |
Susana Blaustein Muñoz Lourdes Portillo |
Nominated | |
2001 | Promises | |
Carlos Bolado Justine Shapiro B.Z. Goldberg |
Nominated | Bolado's partners, Shapiro and Goldberg, were nominated, and not him. |
2010 | Waste Land | |
João Jardim Karen Harley Lucy Walker |
Nominated | João and Karen's partners, Walker and producer Angus Aynsley, were nominated, and not them. |
2014 | The Salt of the Earth | |
Juliano Ribeiro Salgado Wim Wenders |
Nominated | Shared with Wenders and producer David Rosier |
Best Documentary Short Subject
This list focuses on documentary short subject directed by Latin American-born filmmakers.
Best Documentary Short Subject | ||||||
Year | Film | Country | Director | Status | Milestone/Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1971 | Sentinels of Silence | Manuel Arango | Won | This was the only time that a short film won the Academy Award in two categories, having also won for Best Short Subject. | ||
1980 | Luther Metke at 94 | Jorge Preloran | Nominated | Shared with producer Richard Hawkins | ||
2007 | The Crown | |
Amanda Micheli Isabel Vega |
Nominated | ||
2014 | The Reaper | Gabriel Serra Argüello | Nominated | |||
Best Film Editing
This list focuses on Latin American-born film editors.
Film Editing | |||||
Year | Name | Country | Film | Status | Milestone |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2003 | Daniel Rezende | City of God (Cidade de Deus) | Nominated | ||
2006 | Alfonso Cuarón Álex Rodríguez |
|
Children of Men | Nominated | Rodriguez is a French-born Mexican editor. |
2013 | Alfonso Cuarón | Gravity | Won | Shared with Mark Sanger. |
Best Foreign Language Film
This list focuses on films produced in Latin America.
Best Foreign Language Film | |||||
Year | Film | Country | Director | Status | Milestone/Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1960 | Macario | Roberto Gavaldón | Nominated | First Latin American film to be nominated for Best Foreign Language Film. | |
1961 | The Important Man | Ismael Rodríguez | Nominated | (original title: Ánimas Trujano) | |
1962 | Keeper of Promises | Anselmo Duarte | Nominated | (original title: O Pagador de Promessas) | |
The Pearl of Tlayucan | Luis Alcoriza | Nominated | (original title: Tlayucan) | ||
1974 | The Truce | Sergio Renán | Nominated | (original title: La tregua) | |
1975 | Letters from Marusia | Miguel Littín | Nominated | (original title: Actas de Marusia) | |
1982 | Alsino and the Condor | Miguel Littín | Nominated | (original title: Alsino y el Cóndor) Second nomination for Best Foreign Language Film to a film directed by Miguel Littín. Only Latin American Director to receive nominations for films directed in two different countries. | |
1984 | Camila | María Luisa Bemberg | Nominated | First nomination for Best Foreign Language Film to a film directed by a Latin American woman director. | |
1985 | The Official Story | Luis Puenzo | Won | (original title: La historia oficial) First Latin American film to win for Best Foreign Language Film. The film was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay. | |
1989 | Santiago, the Story of his New Life | Jacobo Morales | Nominated | (original title: Lo que le pasó a Santiago) | |
1992 | A Place in the World | Adolfo Aristarain | Nominated | (original title: Un lugar en el mundo) After nominations were announced, information came to light that showed that the film was wholly produced in Argentina, and had insufficient Uruguayan artistic control. The film was declared ineligible and removed from the final ballot. | |
1994 | Strawberry and Chocolate | Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabío | Nominated | (original title: Fresa y chocolate) First and only Cuban film to be nominated for Best Foreign Language Film. | |
1995 | O Quatrilho | Fábio Barreto | Nominated | Second Brazilian film nominated to the award in over 30 years. | |
1997 | Four Days in September | Bruno Barreto | Nominated | (original title: O Que É Isso Companheiro?) | |
1998 | Central Station | Walter Salles | Nominated | (original title: Central do Brasil) The film was also nominated for Best Actress. | |
Tango | Carlos Saura | Nominated | (original title: Tango, no me dejes nunca) | ||
2000 | Love's a Bitch | Alejandro González Iñárritu | Nominated | (original title: Amores perros) | |
2001 | Son of the Bride | Juan José Campanella | Nominated | (original title: El hijo de la novia) | |
2002 | The Crime of Father Amaro | Carlos Carrera | Nominated | (original title: El crimen del Padre Amaro) | |
2006 | Pan's Labyrinth | Guillermo del Toro | Nominated | (original title: El laberinto del fauno) The film was nominated for other five Academy Awards: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Makeup, and won the last three of them. | |
2009 | The Milk of Sorrow | Claudia Llosa | Nominated | (original title: La teta asustada) First, and only, Peruvian Film to be nominated for Best Foreign Language Film. | |
The Secret in Their Eyes | Juan José Campanella | Won | (original title: El secreto de sus ojos) Second nomination for Best Foreign Language Film to a film directed by Juan José Campanella, and first to win. Second Argentine, and Latin American, film to win for Best Foreign Language Film. | ||
2010 | Biutiful | Alejandro González Iñárritu | Nominated | Second nomination for Best Foreign Language Film to a film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. The film was also nominated for Best Actor. | |
2012 | No | Pablo Larraín | Nominated | First, and only, Chilean Film to be nominated for Best Foreign Language Film. | |
2014 | Wild Tales | Damián Szifrón | Nominated | (original title: Relatos Salvajes) | |
2015 | Embrace of the Serpent | Ciro Guerra | Nominated | (original title: El abrazo de la serpiente) First Colombian film to be nominated for Best Foreign Language Film. |
Best Animated Feature
This list focuses on animated feature directed by Latin American-born filmmakers.
Best Animated Feature | |||||
Year | Film | Country | Director | Status | Milestone/Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2002 | Ice Age | Carlos Saldanha | Nominated | The co-director, American Chris Wedge, was nominated, and not Saldanha. | |
2015 | Boy & the World | Alê Abreu | Nominated | Boy & the World is the first Latin American film to be nominated for Best Animated Feature |
Best Live Action Short Film
This list focuses on live action short films directed/produced by Latin American-born filmmakers.
Best Live Action Short Film | |||||
Year | Film | Country | Name | Status | Milestone/Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1971 | Sentinels of Silence | Robert Amram | Won | (original title: Centinelas del silencio) This was the only time that a short film won the Academy Award in two categories. | |
1976 | In the Region of Ice | André Gutffreund | Won | Shared with director Peter Werner. | |
1996 | De tripas, corazón | Antonio Urrutia | Nominated | ||
2001 | Uma História de Futebol | Paulo Machline | Nominated | ||
Best Animated Short Film
This list focuses on animated short films directed by Latin American-born filmmakers.
Animated Short Film | |||||
Year | Name | Country | Director | Status | Milestone/Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2003 | Gone Nutty | Carlos Saldanha | Nominated | First animated short film directed by a Latin-American director to be nominated for an Academy Award. | |
2015 | Bear Story | Pato Escala Pierart and Gabriel Osorio Vargas | Won | First Latin American animated short film to be nominated for an Academy Award. | |
Best Makeup
This list focuses on Latin American-born makeup artists.
Makeup | |||||
Year | Name | Country | Film | Status | Milestone/Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2002 | Beatrice De Alba | Frida | Won | Shared with American John Jackson | |
2006 | Mike Elizalde | Hellboy II: The Golden Army | Nominated | ||
Best Music – Original Score
This list focuses on scores by Latin American-born composers.
Original Score | |||||
Year | Name | Country | Film | Status | Milestone/Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1966 | Luis Bacalov | The Gospel According to St. Matthew | Nominated | (original title: Il Vangelo secondo Matteo) | |
1967 | Lalo Schifrin | Cool Hand Luke | Nominated | ||
1968 | Lalo Schifrin | The Fox | Nominated | The Academy Award category was "Best Music, Original Score for a Motion Picture (not a Musical)". | |
1970 | Herbert W. Spencer | |
Scrooge | Nominated | The Academy Award category was "Best Music, Original Song Score". Shared nomination with English-born Leslie Bricusse and Ian Fraser. |
1973 | Herbert W. Spencer | |
Jesus Christ Superstar | Nominated | The Academy Award category was "Best Music, Scoring Original Song Score and/or Adaptation". Shared nomination with English-born Andrew Lloyd Webber and German-American André Previn. |
1976 | Lalo Schifrin | Voyage of the Damned | Nominated | ||
1979 | Lalo Schifrin | The Amityville Horror | Nominated | ||
1983 | Lalo Schifrin | The Sting II | Nominated | The Academy Award category was "Best Music, Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Best Adaptation Score". | |
1985 | Jorge Calandrelli | The Color Purple | Nominated | Nominated with eleven other composers. | |
1995 | Luis Bacalov | The Postman | Won | (original title: Il Postino). The Academy Award category was "Best Music, Original Dramatic Score". | |
2005 | Gustavo Santaolalla | Brokeback Mountain | Won | ||
2006 | Gustavo Santaolalla | Babel | Won | Fourth composer to win two years in a row. | |
Best Music – Original Song
This list focuses on songs by Latin American-born composers and/or lyricists.
Original Song | ||||||
Year | Name | Country | Film | Song | Status | Milestone/Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1945 | Ary Barroso | Brazil | "Rio de Janeiro" | Nominated | First Brazilian and Latin-American songwriter to be nominated. Nominated with American Ned Washington. | |
1981 | Lalo Schifrin | The Competition | "People Alone" | Nominated | First Argentinean to be nominated. Nominated with American Will Jennings. | |
2000 | Jorge Calandrelli | Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon | "A Love Before Time" | Nominated | (original title: Wo hu cang long) Nominated with Chinese Tan Dun and American James Schamus. | |
2004 | Jorge Drexler | The Motorcycle Diaries | "Al otro lado del río" | Won | (original title: Diarios de motocicleta) First Uruguayan to be nominated and win an Academy Award. | |
2011 | Sergio Mendes Carlinhos Brown |
Rio | "Real in Rio" | Nominated | First two Brazilian songwriters to be nominated together. Brown is the first black Latin songwriter to be nominated. Nominated with American Siedah Garrett. | |
Best Picture
This list focuses on Latin American-born producers.
Picture | |||||
Year | Film | Country | Producer | Status | Milestone |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1985 | Kiss of the Spider Woman | Nominated | First Latin-American and Brazilian film nominated for the Best Picture. Producer David Weisman was the only Academy Award nominee, but there were many associate producers from Latin-American background | ||
2006 | Babel | Alejandro González Iñárritu | Nominated | ||
2013 | Gravity | Alfonso Cuarón | Nominated | Gravity is an American-British film, produced by Mexican Alfonso Cuarón and Englishman David Heyman. | |
2014 | Birdman | Alejandro González Iñárritu | Won | Birdman is an American movie, produced by Mexican Alejandro González Iñárritu and Americans John Lesher and James W. Skotchdopole. | |
2015 | The Revenant | Alejandro González Iñárritu | Nominated | The Revenant is an American film produced by Mexican Alejandro González Iñárritu; Americans Steve Golin, Mary Parent and Keith Redmon; and Israeli Arnon Milchan. |
Best Sound or Sound Mixing
This list focuses on Latin American-born sound engineers.
Best Sound Mixing | |||||
Year | Name | Country | Film | Status | Milestone/Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2006 | Fernando Cámara | Apocalypto | Nominated | ||
2012 | José Antonio Garcia | Argo | Nominated | Nominated with John Reitz and Gregg Rudloff. | |
Best Sound Editing
This list focuses on Latin American-born sond editors.
Sound Editing | |||||
Year | Name | Country | Film | Status | Milestone/Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | Martín Hernández | Birdman | Nominated | Nominated with Aaron Glascock. | |
2015 | Martín Hernández | The Revenant | Nominated | Nominated with Lon Bender |
Best Visual Effects
Best Visual Effects | |||||
Year | Name | Country | Film | Status | Milestone/Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1947 | Paul Lerpae | Unconquered | Nominated | Nomination shared with Farciot Edouart, Devereaux Jennings, Gordon Jennings, Wallace Kelley and George Dutton | |
2002 | Pablo Helman | Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones | Nominated | Nomination shared with Rob Coleman, John Knoll and Ben Snow | |
2005 | Pablo Helman | War of the Worlds | Nominated | Nomination shared with Randal M. Dutra, Dennis Muren and Daniel Sudick | |
Best Writing – Adapted Screenplay
This list focuses on Latin American-born screenplay writers.
Adapted Screenplay | |||||
Year | Name | Country | Film | Status | Milestone/Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2003 | Bráulio Mantovani | City of God | Nominated | ||
2004 | José Rivera | The Motorcycle Diaries | Nominated | ||
2006 | Alfonso Cuarón | Children of Men | Nominated | ||
Best Writing – Original Screenplay
This list focuses on Latin American-born screenplay writers.
Original Screenplay | |||||
Year | Name | Country | Film | Status | Milestone/Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1985 | Aída Bortnik Luis Puenzo |
The Official Story (La historia oficial) | Nominated | ||
2002 | Alfonso Cuarón Carlos Cuarón |
And Your Mother Too (Y tu mamá también) | Nominated | ||
2006 | Guillermo Arriaga | Babel | Nominated | ||
Guillermo del Toro | Pan's Labyrinth (El laberinto del fauno) | Nominated | |||
2014 | Alejandro González Iñárritu Nicolás Giacobone Armando Bó |
|
Birdman | Won | Shared with American Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. |
Best Story
This list focuses on Latin American-born screenplay writers.
Writing-Story | |||||
Year | Name | Country | Film | Status | Milestone/Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1930/1931 | Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast | Laughter | Nominated | Nomination shared with Douglas Z. Doty and Donald Ogden Stewart, Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast was an Argentinean born French screenwriter. |