Will Oscar be Swept Away by the Gay "Undertow?"

It's been a rough year for gay films, especially "prestige" gay films, the kind that instantly garner award buzz. With Howl and I Love You Phillip Morris getting mixed reviews, the one shoo-in for award consideration so far this year is The Kids Are All Right.

But a small Peruvian film might be our best dark horse when award season comes. Undertow has just become Peru's official submission for this year's Best Foreign Film Academy Award. That doesn't mean it will get a nomination - in fact, this is Peru's 17th submission for the Oscar over the years, and it wasn't until last year ( for Milk of Sorrow) that the country finally received a nomination (but lost the Oscar).

Undertow does have a lot going for it, though. It was the Audience Award Winner at the Sundance Film Festival, has nabbed over 40 International festival awards, and most importantly, received a rave review from our own Brent Hartinger.

We reached out for a comment from the film's out director Javier Fuentes-León and here's what he told us:

Yes, we are very happy with the official selection from Peru for the Oscars. We are working hard on spreading the word about the film... and actually, the film will have it's theatrical release at the Cinema Village in New York on November 26th. Same date in LA. It's been playing in San Francisco since September 17th and it's on its sixth week right now at the Lumiere theater ... Thanks a lot for your support!!!

The film will be slowly rolling out around the U.S. over the next few months, and the more support and buzz it gets at these screenings, the likelier it is to get that coveted Oscar slot. With the dearth of qualified films this year, let's give it all the support we can.

You can see the trailer below, and watch for it when it comes to your town!