In a historic feat, Brazil secured back-to-back nominations for both Best Picture and Best International Feature this morning, with Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent / O Agente Secreto, following last year’s recognition of Walter Salles’ I’m Still Here / Ainda Estou Aqui.
While Brazil previously achieved consecutive nominations for Best International Feature with Four Days in September by Bruno Barreto (1998) and Central Station, also by Salles (1999), this marks the first time the country has accomplished a back-to-back showing that also includes Best Picture recognition.
This unprecedented consecutive showing marks a watershed moment for Brazilian cinema on the global stage, underscoring both the sustained international visibility of its filmmakers and the Academy’s growing openness to politically engaged, formally daring work from the region.
Additionally, Brazilian actor Wagner Moura earned a nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role for The Secret Agent, one year after Brazilian actress Fernanda Torres was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role. In total, The Secret Agent received four nominations, including a nod in the inaugural Best Casting category.
Set in the late 1970s, during the final years of Brazil’s military dictatorship, The Secret Agent is a taut political thriller that follows a former intelligence operative drawn back into a tightening web of surveillance, state violence, and personal reckoning. Blending genre elements with a sharp political conscience, the film revisits a dark chapter in Brazil’s recent history while resonating powerfully with contemporary global anxieties.
The film has enjoyed an exceptional run on the international circuit. It won three awards at the Cannes Film Festival and was later named Best International Film by the New York Film Critics Circle, with Moura also taking home the Best Actor honor. The film also recently won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture in a Non-English Language and Best Actor in a Drama.
The winners of the 98th Academy Awards will be announced at a ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday, March 15.
