“It comes to me at the end of my teaching profession and, why not, at the beginning of my acting profession,” Ríos explained in an interview that took place during the Bogotá International Book Fair, surrounded by FILBo attendees, who gathered around waiting to take photos with him at the end of the talk.
For Rios, the Platinum nomination for his acting debut with a poet “It’s great news.” “It’s going to be a wonderful experience and I’m very grateful for this nomination,” he said.
The film, released in 2025 and directed by Simón Mesa Soto, competes in the 13th edition of the Platinum Awards, which will be awarded on May 9 in the Riviera Maya (Mexico), with the Argentine film ‘Belén’, by Dolores Fonzi, and the Spanish film ‘Los Domingos’, by Aluda Ruiz de Azúa, as the most nominated, with 11 nominations.
a poet aspires to win three awards, for best comedy, best actor and best script (for Mesa Soto). It was also nominated for best original music, editing and photography, categories in which it did not win the award.
For the actor, the film’s presence at the Platinum Awards reflects a moment of transformation in Colombian cinema, with stories that “go a little further than what is almost always projected to the world.”
“It is showing that there is a new force in Colombian cinema,” added Ríos, who considers that the film is part of a trend that is committed to more diverse and closer stories.
turning point
Personally, Ríos says that the nomination marks a turning point. About to turn 55 and after a career as a teacher, the path to acting has opened up, where he started just a year and a half ago.
It was an uncle of the director who discovered Ríos on the internet and showed Mesa Soto a photo of him, saying: “this is your poet.”
Thus, the Medellín schoolteacher took on the role of Óscar Restrepo, a frustrated poet who stars in the story. A work for which Ríos has already won awards at various festivals, such as Lima or India.
The now actor will attend the gala in Mexico, where he hopes to share with figures from Ibero-American cinema, an experience that he takes on with expectation and nervousness.
He will compete for Platinum with three established actors with long careers behind them: the Brazilian Wagner Moura, nominated for The secret agent (Or Secret Agent), the Argentine Guillermo Francella (Homo Argentum) and the Spanish Alberto San Juan (dinner).
Beyond the individual recognition, the actor stressed the collective value of the nomination, which he considers an achievement of the entire team, including the technicians and workers behind the cameras.
An intimate story with universal reach
a poet tells the life of Óscar, a sensitive and frustrated man who finds in poetry a form of resistance and hopea character that connects with the audience because it reflects common experiences because “the viewer feels that he reminds them of someone,” according to Ríos.
Although it is based on a family idiosyncrasy typical of the department of Antioquia, in the northwest of Colombia, the actor considers that the story transcends the local by addressing universal themes such as failure, vulnerability and the lack of opportunities for artists because “it is the typical village story that is cosmopolitan.”
In fact, he assured that the film has already connected with European audiences, who identify with their conflicts and emotions despite cultural differences.
The actor also admitted that he has had to overcome “self-sabotage” after the film’s first international successes, feeling out of place in an industry that he is just beginning to explore, although, he said, he has managed to transform that feeling into motivation to enjoy the moment and accept the nomination as a shared recognition.