From left to right: Tonatiuh, Benicio del Toro, Kleber Mendonça Filho, and Wagner Moura
The 35th Annual Gotham Awards, the American film awards presented each year in New York City, take place this Monday, December 1, with four Latin American talents in contention.
Brazilian filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho is nominated for Best Original Screenplay for his latest film The Secret Agent. The tense and intimate thriller, winner of three awards at the Cannes Film Festival, follows a former intelligence operative drawn back into a web of political intrigue and personal reckoning. Mendonça Filho, known for Aquarius and Bacurau, wrote the script and worked closely with his cast to shape a story grounded in character, atmosphere, and the texture of the quotidienne.
Wagner Moura, also from Brazil, earned a nomination for Outstanding Lead Performance for his portrayal of the film’s haunted protagonist. He brings a precise blend of intensity and vulnerability to the role, anchoring the film’s suspense while revealing the emotional cost of a man navigating loyalty, betrayal, and shifting political terrain.
Puerto Rican actor Benicio del Toro was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Performance for his work in Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, while Mexican-American actor Tonatiuh received a Breakthrough Performer nomination for his role in Kiss of the Spider Woman, marking a significant early milestone in a fast-rising career.
In One Battle After Another, del Toro plays Sergio St. Carlos, a thoughtful, steady martial-arts instructor who becomes an unexpected source of support for Leonardo DiCaprio’s character. Tonatiuh stars as Luis Molina in the musical adaptation of Kiss of the Spider Woman, appearing alongside Diego Luna and Jennifer Lopez in Bill Condon’s film. He plays a queer window dresser imprisoned during Argentina’s Dirty War and also takes on a secondary role inspired by a classic Hollywood character, giving him space to explore a wider range of gender expression.
