Brazil Selects The Secret Agent as Its Entry for the 2026 Oscars
According to CinemaDrame News Agency, The Secret Agent, directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho, has been chosen as Brazil’s submission for the 2026 Academy Awards. The Brazilian Film Academy announced earlier today that the country will seek its second consecutive Oscar for Best International Feature with this film. Last year, I’m Still Here by Walter Salles won the award in the same category.
The Secret Agent follows Marcelo, a forty-something tech specialist on the run in 1977 Brazil, who arrives in Recife during Carnival week to meet his son—only to quickly realize he is not safe. The cast includes Wagner Moura, Maria Fernanda Cândido, Gabriel Leone, Carlos Francisco, Alice Carvalho, and Hermila Guedes.
The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where Moura and Filho won awards for Best Actor and Best Director. Filho’s previous film was the documentary Retratos Fantasmas, which screened at Cannes two years ago.
Recently, Sean Penn and Julia Roberts lent their support as producers to Manas (Sisters), directed by Mariana Bernand. However, Fernanda Torres, the Oscar-winning actress from I’m Still Here, expressed her backing for The Secret Agent on Instagram this Sunday, writing: “Brazilian cinema has been reborn like a phoenix.”
The Secret Agent will be released in the United States by Neon and in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and parts of Latin America by Mubi. The preliminary shortlist for the 98th Academy Awards will be announced on December 16, with the final nominees revealed on January 22.
