Cuba has selected the Cuban film Conducta (Behavior), by Ernesto Daranas, to run as a candidate for the Oscars in Hollywood, and the Goya Awards in Spain.

The movie was chosen to represent the island by a commission of the Cuban Film Institute, ICAIC, made up of director, Fernando Pérez, and the director of the Young Movie Exhibit, Marisol Rodríguez. The commission says that Conducta shows an authentically Cuban and universal drama with high film quality.

Conducta, which was a hit in Cuba in February  and has received both critics and audiences’ acclaim, tells the moving story of an 11- year- old boy, nicknamed Chala, who lives alone with his alcoholic mother in a marginalized atmosphere, where he trains fighting dogs as a way of looking for money for his home. His sixth grade veteran teacher, Carmela, and the boy establish a strong friendly relationship, and Carmela pledges to defend the child in view of an intolerant decision adopted by the school director to transfer him to a special school for children with behavior disorders.

Described as "hard, very critical, sentimental, touching and controversial”, since its premier, it’s been awarded in several international festivals. Conducta has been shown at the Toronto International Film Festival TIFF and the Film Festival of Bogota, Colombia. The Cuban movie recently received the award for Best Script at the International Film Festival of Brasilia and the Audience’s Award at the Film Festival of Lima, Peru. It has also won the Best Film and Best Actress Awards at the Havana Film Festival of New York and the "Biznaga de Plata" at the 17th Film Festival of Malaga, Spain.