Brazil has selected The Secret Agent / O Agente Secreto, the latest feature by acclaimed filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho, as its official submission for the Best International Feature Film category at the upcoming 98th Academy Awards.
Starring Wagner Moura, Maria Fernanda Cândido, Alice Carvalho, and Udo Kier, the political thriller is set in 1977 during Brazil’s military dictatorship and follows a former teacher who attempts to escape state surveillance while reckoning with the weight of memory and repression. The film had its world premiere in competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where it won Best Director for Mendonça Filho, Best Actor for Moura, the FIPRESCI Prize, and the Art House Cinema Award.
The selection comes on the heels of a historic year for Brazilian cinema: the country won the Oscar for Best International Feature Film last year with Walter Salles’ I’m Still Here / Ainda Estou Aqui, starring Academy Award–nominated actress Fernanda Torres, marking its first-ever victory in the category. Mendonça Filho’s candidacy extends Brazil’s momentum on the world stage and reinforces his reputation as one of the nation’s most vital contemporary voices, following celebrated works such as Aquarius, Bacurau (co-directed with Juliano Dornelles), and Pictures of Ghosts.
Including last year’s win, Brazil has been nominated five times for Best International Film. This is the third time Mendonça Filho represents the South American country at the Oscars, following Neighboring Sounds in 2013 and Pictures of Ghosts in 2023.
With its festival acclaim and urgent political resonance, The Secret Agent will now embark on the long road to Oscar consideration, as Brazil hopes to secure back-to-back nominations—and potentially back-to-back wins.
