Sebastián Silva vs. Miguel Littin

A controversy has recently arisen in Chile regarding the country's official submission to the Academy Awards. To many came a surprise that the South American country selected Miguel Littín's Dawson Isla 10 over Sebastián Silva's The Maid (La Nana), which won two prizes at this year's Sundance Film Festival and has been recently nominated to two Gotham Independent Film Awards. Littin is a veteran of Chilean cinema perhaps better known for his classic film El Chacal de Nahueltoro and has been nominated twice to an Academy Award, in 1975 for Letters from Marusia and in 1982 for Alsino and the Condor. Leaving artistic merits on the side, it seems one has to be totally pragmatic when considering selections for the Oscars. Read Silva's accountof the controversy and Littin's (both links in Spanish).