Religion in Paraguay the Alto Parana department, the capital of which is Ciudad del Este. There are also communities in Asunción and Itapua (the capital of which is Encarnación). As in other parts of Latin America, many of these are descended from immigrants from Syria and Lebanon, though some may also be from Bangladesh and Pakistan The Bahá'í Faith in Paraguay begins after `Abdu'l-Bahá, then head of the religion, mentioned the country in 1916. Paraguayan Maria Casati was the first to join the religion in 1939 when living in Buenos Aires. The first pioneer to settle in Paraguay was Elizabeth Cheney late in
Cinema of Paraguay "Felipe Canasto" (2010) and "Semana Capital" (2010). Funding remains a problem, however, and the market is dominated largely by American and Argentine films. In 2015 Paraguay submitted its first entry for consideration for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, Arami Ullon's documentary "Cloudy Times". In September 2017, the Film Academy of Paraguay chose its second candidate for the Oscar award, "Los buscadores" ("Gold Seekers") by Juan Carlos Maneglia and Tana Schémbori, directors of "7 Boxes". "Memory Exercises" by Paz Encina was also nominated for a Goya Award in Spain. In October 2017, the Senate approved with half sanction