In Argentina a lawyer fights to free a working-class woman jailed after a miscarriage in this heartfelt retelling of the true story.
Belén is a pseudonym. In 2014, a 25-year-old woman arrived at a hospital in Argentina with severe abdominal pain that turned out to be caused by a miscarriage. She had had no idea she was 22 weeks pregnant, but doctors suspected she had had an abortion, then illegal in Argentina, and called the police. Belén was charged with aggravated homicide and sentenced to eight years in prison. When her case was taken up by feminist lawyer Soledad Deza, it sparked huge protests, with thousands taking to the streets, one of the many green scarves demonstrations.
Belén is a 2025 Argentine historical legal drama film, directed by and starring Dolores Fonzi from a screenplay she co-wrote with Laura Paredes, Agustina San Martín and Nicolás Britos. It is based on the non-fiction book Somos Belén by Ana Correa, which follows a lawyer’s quest for justice when her client is falsely imprisoned for an illegal abortion.
The film Belén was selected as the Argentine entry for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards, making the December shortlist.
The film was also available on Prime Video last year, and there was a whole web page of different versions, some of which were available as recently as a few weeks ago, but not one was still available to watch on 2-2-26, when this newsletter was being prepared, even though the film is being proposed for an award in 2026.
SOURCE: Belén (film) – Wikipedia by Cath Clarke, 5 November 2025. Based on “Somos Belén” (often translated in English as “We are all Belén”).