BY LUISA YANEZ

  Miami received a piece of the Oscar action Tuesday with the announcement of the nominees for the 76th annual Academy Awards in Tinseltown.

  Balseros, a documentary about the lives of seven Cubans who were part of the 1994 rafter exodus, was nominated in the category of best documentary.

  The exodus brought 30,000 rafters to South Florida. All the balseros featured in the film were processed through Miami; two still reside here.

  ''I cannot tell you the pride and joy I feel for myself and those in the movie, who I have grown to love,'' said one of the filmmakers, Carles Bosch, 51. Bosch,
  a Spanish television reporter, was sent to the island to cover the story and ended up dedicating a decade to the rafters' compelling stories.

  The film originated as an hour-long documentary released in 1997. It gained heft -- and an hour -- when Bosch and codirector Josep M. Domenech revisited
  their subjects five years later and found that life in America for the protagonists had not been all rosy.

  Shown at the Miami International Film Festival last year, Balseros -- Spanish for rafters -- tells an unflinching tale of the seven.

  It follows them on the island as they prepare for the perilous trek. It depicts their detention at the Guantanamo Naval Base, where many of the rafters
  ended up. Finally, it shows their arrival in the United States and efforts to assimilate in a new country. Five years later, the group is revisited by the
  filmmakers who capture how their pursuit of the American Dream has either taken flight or unraveled.

  Guillermo Armas, 54, of Miami, one of the rafters featured in Balseros, is the film's clear success story, assimilating with ease. His wife and daughter, who
  arrived here in 1990, were waiting for him.

  ''What you see in the film is my life; it's what happened to me,'' said Armas, who works full time at Office Depot on Coral Way and makes deliveries for two
  merchants. ``I came here to improve myself, to better my life, and that's what I'm trying to do.''

  For others, finding their way proved a hard road. One young woman who settled in Albuquerque fell into drugs and prostitution. Bosch, who keeps in touch
  with most of his seven subjects, said she's studying for a nursing career.

  One balsero became a religious zealot in San Antonio. Another lives in Connecticut and works at a tire repair shop. Others have drifted.

  But Bosch said their experience is not restricted to Cuban immigrants. ''Their good or bad luck represents the experience of any immigrant from any
  country,'' he said. ``Starting over is not an easy step to take. My film says something about that human experience.''

  When shown in Miami, the documentary received a lukewarm reception from some Cuban exiles who felt it was not political enough or a strong
  condemnation of Fidel Castro's government, which prompted the documentary's protagonists to flee. Castro's name is uttered only once in Balseros . But
  the audience gave it a standing ovation, Bosch said. ''I know some people wanted more of a political statement, but to me, the 1994 exodus was caused
  by economic need,'' he said.

  Monday night, Balseros was the closing night feature at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival in Boston. Bosch was there, along with one of the featured
  rafters. ''The response was great,'' he said.

  Tuesday morning, Bosch said he woke up to the news that Balseros had been nominated for an Oscar.

  The best documentary awards will be presented halfway through the Feb. 29 telecast. The camera does not seek out directors in the audience as the
  names of the nominees are read.

  ''I told my mother I'm going to wear a beautiful tuxedo so she can be proud of me with all her girlfriends, but I warned her that she might not see much of
  me if I don't win,'' he said.

  Balseros is owned by HBO-Cinemax Documentary Films. It will have its U.S. broadcast premier on Cinemax on March 16.