# A Place in the World
**A Place in the World** (*Un lugar en el mundo*) is a 1992 Argentine drama film directed by Adolfo Aristarain, telling the story of an exiled family that returns to rural Argentina to build a cooperative community, told through the memories of their twelve-year-old son Ernesto.[1](https://cinenacional.com/pelicula/un-lugar-en-el-mundo) It won the Golden Shell at the 1992 San Sebastián Film Festival and the Goya Award for Best Foreign Film in the Spanish Language, and it became the first film in the Academy Awards' history to have an Oscar nomination rescinded, when its Best Foreign Language Film nomination was withdrawn in February 1993 over questions about whether it was a product of Uruguay or Argentina.[2](https://www.sansebastianfestival.com/1992/sections_and_films/official_section/7/400009/in) • [3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-02-26-ca-704-story.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / year | Adolfo Aristarain; produced 1991, released in Argentina on 9 April 1992[1](https://cinenacional.com/pelicula/un-lugar-en-el-mundo) • [4](https://www.3continents.com/en/film/un-lugar-en-el-mundo/) |
| Country | Argentina, a co-production with Uruguay[1](https://cinenacional.com/pelicula/un-lugar-en-el-mundo) |
| Principal cast | Federico Luppi (Mario), Cecilia Roth (Ana), José Sacristán (Hans), Leonor Benedetto (Nelda), Gastón Batyi (Ernesto)[5](https://trigon-film.org/en/films/un-lugar-en-el-mundo/) |
| Screenplay | Adolfo Aristarain in collaboration with Alberto Lecchi, from an idea by Aristarain and Kathy Saavedra[6](https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/11710/1/313231.pdf) |
| Top honors | Golden Shell for Best Film, San Sebastián 1992; Goya, Best Foreign Film in Spanish Language[2](https://www.sansebastianfestival.com/1992/sections_and_films/official_section/7/400009/in) • [7](https://www.filmaffinity.com/es/film767513.html) |
| Oscar status | Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film as Uruguay's entry for the 65th Academy Awards; nomination rescinded on 25 February 1993[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-02-26-ca-704-story.html) |
| Runtime | Reported as 120, 124, 126, or 127 minutes depending on the source[8](https://infoicaa.mcu.es/CatalogoICAA/Peliculas/Detalle?Pelicula=225692) • [5](https://trigon-film.org/en/films/un-lugar-en-el-mundo/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The adult Ernesto returns for one day to the small town of Valle Bermejo in the mountains of Argentina, in San Luis province, and recalls the events of his childhood there when he was twelve.[4](https://www.3continents.com/en/film/un-lugar-en-el-mundo/) His parents, Mario and Ana, had left Buenos Aires voluntarily after the coup d'état and settled in a remote rural valley. Mario, a former sociology professor, runs a school and a cooperative of wool producers that bands together the valley's small ranchers; Ana, a doctor, cares for the community's health alongside Nelda, a strong-willed nun who dresses in civilian clothes.[1](https://cinenacional.com/pelicula/un-lugar-en-el-mundo) • [5](https://trigon-film.org/en/films/un-lugar-en-el-mundo/)
The family's world is threatened from two directions. The largest rancher in the valley, Andrada (Rodolfo Ranni), is the natural enemy of the Valle Bermejo Cooperative, and the arrival of Hans (José Sacristán), a Spanish geologist hired by the local landowner to search for oil, alters the equilibrium of the place and marks the beginning of the end for the valley.[4](https://www.3continents.com/en/film/un-lugar-en-el-mundo/) • [1](https://cinenacional.com/pelicula/un-lugar-en-el-mundo) Hans's cynicism thaws as he comes to understand the ethics of his new friends, and he becomes a mentor to Ernesto, who is also experiencing a first romance with Luciana, daughter of Andrada's foreman.[5](https://trigon-film.org/en/films/un-lugar-en-el-mundo/) • [4](https://www.3continents.com/en/film/un-lugar-en-el-mundo/) Aristarain described the film as the story of a tragedy: a group of men and women who, unsuccessfully, try to change the world from a remote and small place in Argentina.[9](https://elpais.com/diario/1992/10/30/cultura/720399612_850215.html)
## Production
Aristarain began working as a co-producer with this film, and the production was organized as a cooperative, like the one in the story. The crew worked without collecting their salaries, only an advance; producer Osvaldo Papaleo acknowledged that this was not a way to make cinema, "although it is a beautiful adventure."[9](https://elpais.com/diario/1992/10/30/cultura/720399612_850215.html) The film was produced by Aristarain and Papaleo through Cooperativa de Trabajo La Colmena, with cinematography by Ricardo De Angelis, editing by Eduardo López, and a musical score by Emilio Kauderer.[6](https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/11710/1/313231.pdf)
## The rescinded Oscar nomination
The film was submitted to the 65th Academy Awards as Uruguay's official entry for Best Foreign Language Film, and it was among the nominees when the nominations were announced in February 1993.[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-02-26-ca-704-story.html) • [10](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104774/) Shortly afterward, questions were raised that the movie, submitted by Uruguay, might be more a product of Argentina. Published reports indicated that Aristarain, said to hold dual Argentinian and Uruguayan citizenship, had sought the Uruguayan designation only after the Argentine Oscar committee had selected another film.[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-02-26-ca-704-story.html)
On 25 February 1993 the [Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences](https://www.edgepedia.org/academy-of-motion-picture-arts-and-sciences) rescinded the nomination, the first time in its 65-year history that it had done so, and no other film was nominated in its place.[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-02-26-ca-704-story.html) Aristarain, reached by telephone in Buenos Aires, said he was "really shocked because we had sent a number of documents saying this movie is a co-production (financial and artistic)." The Academy attributed the problem to a misunderstanding of the rules by the Uruguayan film committee, which was submitting a film for an Oscar for the first time; executive director Bruce Davis said the Academy takes national committees' submissions at face value, "we're not a detective agency."[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-02-26-ca-704-story.html)
## Awards and reception
At the 40th San Sebastián Festival in September 1992 the film won the Golden Shell for Best Film, along with the OCIC Award.[2](https://www.sansebastianfestival.com/1992/sections_and_films/official_section/7/400009/in) • [5](https://trigon-film.org/en/films/un-lugar-en-el-mundo/) It also took the Goya Award for Best Foreign Film in the Spanish Language, audience prizes at Nantes and Fribourg, and the Golden Kikito for Best Latin Film at Gramado.[5](https://trigon-film.org/en/films/un-lugar-en-el-mundo/) The Argentine Film Critics Association awarded it Silver Condors for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor (Federico Luppi), Best Actress (Cecilia Roth), Best Supporting Actor (José Sacristán), Best New Actor (Gastón Batyi), Best Music (Emilio Kauderer), and Best Original Screenplay.[5](https://trigon-film.org/en/films/un-lugar-en-el-mundo/)
In Spain the film was released on 30 October 1992 and sold 514,937 admissions, grossing 1,529,992.55 euros.[8](https://infoicaa.mcu.es/CatalogoICAA/Peliculas/Detalle?Pelicula=225692) Aristarain noted that it had outdrawn *Terminator 2* and *Basic Instinct* at the Argentine box office, which he took as evidence that audiences turn out for good national films.[11](https://elpais.com/diario/1992/09/27/cultura/717544807_850215.html?outputType=amp) Time Out's review praised its "highly nuanced attention to character, mood and structure" and its evocative camerawork by Ricardo De Angelis.[12](https://www.timeout.com/movies/a-place-in-the-world) Filmaffinity's ranking places it among the three best Argentine films of all time.[7](https://www.filmaffinity.com/es/film767513.html)
## Legacy
The film is regarded as a milestone in Aristarain's career, a director who had already made his name bending genres to the demands of his style as a storyteller.[13](https://cultura.cervantes.es/amman/en/un-lugar-en-el-mundo/149212) It stands among the classics of his filmography alongside *Tiempo de revancha* (1981) and *Martín (Hache)* (1997).[14](https://elpais.com/argentina/2024-09-12/adolfo-aristarain-lo-mio-siempre-fue-divertirme-haciendo-cine.html) Aristarain, born in Buenos Aires, died in April 2026 at the age of 82, and obituaries returned *Un lugar en el mundo* to the foreground as an essential work for understanding the dialogue between Argentine and Spanish cinema.[15](https://elpais.com/argentina/2026-04-26/muere-el-cineasta-adolfo-aristarain-puente-cultural-entre-argentina-y-espana.html) • [16](https://as.com/meristation/libros/adolfo-aristarain-y-la-monumental-bronca-con-vazquez-montalban-que-acabo-en-venganza-literaria-f202604-n/)
## References
1. [Un lugar en el mundo (1991), cinenacional.com](https://cinenacional.com/pelicula/un-lugar-en-el-mundo)
2. [Un lugar en el mundo / A Place in the World, San Sebastián Film Festival, 1992 Official Section](https://www.sansebastianfestival.com/1992/sections_and_films/official_section/7/400009/in)
3. [For 1st Time, Oscar Nod Is Rescinded, Los Angeles Times, 26 February 1993](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-02-26-ca-704-story.html)
4. [A Place in the World (Un lugar en el mundo), Festival des 3 Continents](https://www.3continents.com/en/film/un-lugar-en-el-mundo/)
5. [Un lugar en el mundo, trigon-film](https://trigon-film.org/en/films/un-lugar-en-el-mundo/)
6. [Appendix 1: Films, University of Nottingham eprints](https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/11710/1/313231.pdf)
7. [Un lugar en el mundo (1992), Filmaffinity](https://www.filmaffinity.com/es/film767513.html)
8. [Un lugar en el mundo, ICAA Film Database, file 225692](https://infoicaa.mcu.es/CatalogoICAA/Peliculas/Detalle?Pelicula=225692)
9. [Se estrena el filme argentino que triunfó en el festival de San Sebastián, El País, 30 October 1992](https://elpais.com/diario/1992/10/30/cultura/720399612_850215.html)
10. [A Place in the World (1992), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104774/)
11. ["Me siento orgulloso de ser de izquierdas", El País, 27 September 1992](https://elpais.com/diario/1992/09/27/cultura/717544807_850215.html?outputType=amp)
12. [A Place in the World review, Time Out](https://www.timeout.com/movies/a-place-in-the-world)
13. [A Place in the World, Instituto Cervantes](https://cultura.cervantes.es/amman/en/un-lugar-en-el-mundo/149212)
14. [Adolfo Aristarain: "Lo mío siempre fue divertirme haciendo cine", El País, 12 September 2024](https://elpais.com/argentina/2024-09-12/adolfo-aristarain-lo-mio-siempre-fue-divertirme-haciendo-cine.html)
15. [Muere el cineasta Adolfo Aristarain, El País, 26 April 2026](https://elpais.com/argentina/2026-04-26/muere-el-cineasta-adolfo-aristarain-puente-cultural-entre-argentina-y-espana.html)
16. [Adolfo Aristarain y la monumental bronca con Vázquez Montalbán, AS](https://as.com/meristation/libros/adolfo-aristarain-y-la-monumental-bronca-con-vazquez-montalban-que-acabo-en-venganza-literaria-f202604-n/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Drama and biographical films (individual works) › Drama films 1990s › Drama films early 1990s*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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