Film “Ali Primera” will represent Venezuela at the Oscars 2026

Published at: 30/09/2025 02:10 PM

The Minister of Popular Power for Culture, Ernesto Villegas, announced that the film “First Ali”, directed by filmmaker Daniel Yegres, has been selected to represent Venezuela in the race for the nomination for “Best International Film” in the 2026 edition of the Oscars.

The film is the first audiovisual production of the Great Mission Viva Venezuela, My Beloved Homeland, and constitutes a cinematographic tribute to the life and work of the remembered singer-songwriter, poet and social fighter Ali Primera, a symbol of popular struggles and Venezuelan cultural identity.

Villegas highlighted that this film represents much more than an audiovisual work, “it is a historical debt that Venezuela owed to one of its most important popular references.”

“On behalf of President Nicolás Maduro and the National Promoting Team of the Great Viva Venezuela Mission, I extend sincere congratulations to Daniel Yegres, the Humana Cine team, the screenwriters, the wonderful cast, technicians, producers, editors and other dreamers who made this film a reality that Venezuela owed to that giant of the people's singing and struggles, Ali Primera,” he said.

The film was completed in 2024 and since then it has embarked on a successful tour of international stages, bringing with it the necessary singing, the voice of the people and an aesthetic proposal that is deeply rooted in the Venezuelan world.

The selection of “First Ali” was officially announced by the National Association of Cinematographic Authors (ANAC), one of the guilds that has historically maintained an institutional relationship with the United States Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, organizer of the Oscars.

MINCULTURA/Mazo News Team