Tag Archives: Oscars

Brazil’s Academy Award Nominations

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A notable five Academy award nomination for Brazil. Four for Kleber Mendonca Filho’s “The Secret Agent” (film, international feature, actor and casting), that opens in the UK on 20 February, and one for the cinematography of Adolpho Veloso on “Train Dreams”, currently streaming on Netflix.

“The Secret Agent”, which had its Rio premiere during Festival do Rio, is the 12th non-English language film to be nominated for both International Feature Film and Best Picture in the same year, “Sentimental Value” is the 13th. To date, “Parasite” is the only film to win both International Feature Film and Best Picture.

For the eighth year in a row, at least one non-English language film has been nominated in the Best Picture category. Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent)  is one of a record four non-English language performances that are nominated this year (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Wagner Moura, Renate Reinsve and Stellan Skarsgård). The previous record of three was set in 1976 (Marie-Christine Barrault, Giancarlo Giannini and Liv Ullmann).

The Secret Agent is the sixth nomination for Brazil in the international feature film (foreign language) category. Other nominations were for “Keeper of Promises (The Given Word)” (1962), “O Quatrilho” (1995), “Four Days in September” (1997), “Central Station” (1998) and “I’m Still Here” (2024), which won last year’s award.

“Deserto Particular” chosen as Brazil’s selection for the Oscars 2022

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Aly Muritiba’s “Deserto Particular” (Private Desert) has been chosen as Brazil’s official selection in the Best International Film category for the Academy Awards in 2022. 

It tells the story of 40-year-old Daniel (Antonio Saboia), who has been suspended from active police work in Curitiba, in the south of Brazil, and is under internal investigation for violence. When Sara, his internet love affair, stops answering his texts he decides to drive north to the interior of Bahia in search of her, starting on what is apparently a fool’s errand. He shows Sara’s picture around, but nobody seems to recognise the woman, until eventually one man says he can put the two in touch but under very specific conditions. 

The film premiered and was very well received at the Venice Film Festival in September in Venice Days (Giornate degli Autori). It will open in Brazil on 25 November.