Oscars: Colombia Picks 'A Poet' For 2026 International Feature Race

Colombia on Tuesday selected Simón Mesa Soto’s A Poet as the country’s submission for the 2026 Oscar Best International Feature Film race.

The pic world premiered at Cannes this year where it won the jury prize in the festival’s Un Certain Regard lineup, and just played at TIFF. It is the sophomore feature for Soto.

First-time actor Ubeimar Rio stars as Oscar, a failed writer who is unemployed, living with family, and who wanders the streets of Medellín in a drunken stupor, lamenting the state of literature in his home country. He gets the opportunity to mentor a young student and sees it as a chance at redemption.

The film also stars Rebeca Andrade, Guillermo Cardona, Humberto Restrepo, Alisson Correa and Margarita Soto.

“Since its release in Colombian theaters, A Poet has