Valentin, Argentina's official entry for the Oscars, swept the nominations for the country's own Academy awards, the Condor de Plata. Alejandro Agresti's semi-autobiographical comedy/drama grabbed 12 Condor de Plata nominations.

Now in its 52nd year, the awards are bestowed by the Association of Film Critics of Argentina. The ceremony is scheduled for a still unspecified date in April.

Valentin, a Miramax US pick-up, competes for the Best Picture award against urban thriller El Polaquito by Juan Carlos Desanzo which took 11 nods and El Fondo Del Mar, the directorial debut of Damian Szifron which earned 10 nods.

Other best picture nominees are Eduardo Mignona's road movie Cleopatra and Luis Cesar D' Angiolillo's Potestad.

The directors of the best picture nominees also vie for the Best Director award. In addition, Szifron competes for the best directorial debut (Opera Prima) award against Daniel Burak for Bar El Chino, Diego Lerman for Tan De Repente, Ana Katz for El Juego De La Silla and Silvia Di Florio for Raul Barboza, El Sentimiento De Abrazar.

LIST OF NOMINEES:

Best Picture:
Valentin, by Alejandro Agresti;
El Polaquito, by Juan Carlos Desanzo;
El Fondo Del Mar, by Damian Szifron;
Potestad, by Luis Cesar D'Angiolillo,
Cleopatra, by Eduardo Mignogna.

Best Directorial Debut:
Bar El Chino, Daniel Burak;
El Fondo Del Mar, by Damian Szifron;
Tan De Repente, by Diego Lerman;
El Juego De La Silla, by Ana Katz,
Raul Barboza, El Sentimiento De Abrazar, by Silvia Di Florio.

Best Director:
Alejandro Agresti (Valentin);
Damian Szifron (El Fondo Del Mar);
Juan Carlos Desanzo (El Polaquito);
Eduardo Mignogna (Cleopatra),
Luis Cesar D'Angiolillo (Potestad).

Best Original Screenplay:
Alejandro Agresti (Valentin);
Mario Lion, Daniel Burak and Beatriz Pustilnik (Bar El Chino);
Juan Carlos Desanzo and Angel O. Espinosa (El Polaquito);
Damian Szifron (El Fondo Del Mar),
Guillermo Hough and Nestor Montalbano (Soy Tu Aventura).

Best Screenplay Adaptation:
Ariel Roli Sienra and Luis Cesar D'Angiolillo (Potestad);
Diego Lerman and Maria Mieira (Tan De Repente),
Daniel Guebel and Sergio Bellotti (Sudeste).

Best Actor:
Eduardo Tato Pavlovsky (Potestad);
Leonardo Sbaraglia (En La Ciudad Sin Limites);
Lito Cruz (India Pravile);
Daniel Hendler (El Fondo Del Mar),
Diego Capusotto (Soy Tu Aventura).

Best Actress:
Norma Aleandro (Cleopatra);
Jimena La Torre (Bar El Chino);
Raquel Bank (El Juego De La Silla);
Ivonne Fournery (Sangre),
Marina Glezer (El Polaquito).

Best Supporting Actor:
Gustavo Garzon (El Fondo Del Mar);
Mex Urtizberea (Valentin);
Alfredo Alcon (En La Ciudad Sin Limites);
Roly Serrano (El Polaquito),
Jorge Marrale (Soy Tu Aventura).

Best Supporting Actress:
Dolores Fonzi (El Fondo Del Mar);
Carmen Maura (Valentin);
Julieta Cardinali (Valentin);
Veronica Llinas (Soy Tu Aventura),
Beatriz Thibaudin (Tan De Repente).

Best Male Newcomer:
Rodrigo Noya (Valentin);
Abel Ayala (El Polaquito);
Fernando Roa (El Polaquito);
Niceforo Galvan (La Mecha),
Javier Locatelli (Sudeste).

Best Female Newcomer:
Marina Glezer (El Polaquito);
Jimena La Torre (Bar El Chino);
Raquel Bank (El Juego De La Silla);
Carla Crespo (Tan De Repente),
Camila MacLennan (Vladimir En Buenos Aires).

Best Cinematography:
Jose Luis Cajaraville (Valentin);
Lucio Bonelli (El Fondo Del Mar);
Maria Ines Teyssie (Potestad);
Carlos Torlarschi (El Polaquito),
Marcelo Camorino (Cleopatra).

Best Music:
Paul M. van Brugge (Valentin);
Daniel Binelli (India Pravile);
Edgardo Rudnitzky (Potestad);
Emilio Valle (Soy Tu Aventura),
Paco Ortega (Cleopatra).

Best Sound:
Jorge Stavropulos (Bar El Chino);
Fernando Soldevilla (Valentin);
Daniel Marquez (Raul Barboza, El Sentimiento De Abrazar);
Guido Beremblum (Potestad),
Marcos de Aguirre, Jessica Suarez and Fernando Soldevilla (El Fondo Del Mar).

Best Editing:
Alejandro Brodershon (Valentin);
Andres Tambornino (Bar El Chino);
Sergio Zottola (El Polaquito);
Guillermo Grillo and Luis Cesar D'Angiolillo (Potestad),
Miguel Schverdfinger (Soy Tu Aventura).

Best Art Direction:
Floris Vos (Valentin);
Margarita Jusid (Cleopatra);
Mariela Ripodas (El Polaquito);
Mariela Ripodas y Lucia Spiro (El Fondo Del Mar),
Santiago Elder (El Juego De Arcibel).

Best Documentary:
Bonanza, by Ulises Rosell;
Sol De Noche, by Pablo Milstein and Norberto Ludin;
Ciudad De Maria, by Enrique Bellande;
Abrazos: Tango En Buenos Aires, by Daniel Rivas;
Raul Barboza, El Sentimiento De Abrazar, by Silvia Di Florio,
Yo No Se Que Me Han Hecho Tus Ojos, by Sergio Wolff and Lorena Munoz.

Best Foreign Film:
Mystic River by Clint Eastwood;
The Pianist by Roman Polanski;
The Russian Ark by Alexandre Sokurov;
The Man Without A Past by Aki Kaurismaki,
The Journey Of Chihiro by Hayao Miyazaki.