The Ecuadorean Film Academy announced today that filmmaker Sebastián Cordero will represent the South American nation for the third time in the Best International Feature competition at the Oscars with his newest production, the documentary Behind the Mist / Al otro lado de la niebla. Cordero previously submitted Chronicles / Crónicas in 2004 and Such Is Life in the Tropics / Sin muertos no hay carnaval in 2016 as Ecuador's official Oscar entries.
In Behind the Mist, Cordero follows Ecuadorean climber Iván Vallejo during his ascent to the top of Mount Everest. However, as they climb higher, their visions of the film begin to diverge dramatically—and dangerously. In 1999, Vallejo became the first Ecuadorean to summit Mount Everest twice without supplemental oxygen. That same year, Cordero premiered his first film at the Venice Film Festival. Two decades later, they embark on a collaboration to document not just the ascent of a mountain, but also a career—a perilous and at times transcendental journey of self-discovery.
Behind the Mist had its North American premiere at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival last spring. This marks Ecuador’s 12th submission to the Oscars, though the country has yet to secure a nomination.
