"When Penélope Cruz walked onstage at the Academy Awards last March, she uttered three words that marked a turning point for Brazilian cinema: " I'm Still Here." Presenting the award for Best International Feature, Cruz announced the film directed by Walter Salles and starring Fernanda Torres as the winner. Across Brazil, people celebrated in bars and public squares that warm Carnival Sunday night as if the country had just won the World Cup."
"Only weeks later, "The Secret Agent", directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho, took home Best Director and Best Actor (for Wagner Moura) at the Cannes Film Festival. Distributed in the U.S. by Neon, the film is now expected to follow the footsteps of "I'm Still Here"; currently, Petra Costa's documentary "Apocalypse in the Tropics" is also positioned for an Oscar nomination."
Brazilian films secured unprecedented international recognition with an Oscar for "I'm Still Here," Cannes awards for "The Secret Agent," and Berlin honors for "The Blue Trail." Public celebrations followed the Oscar win and a renewed sense of industry rebirth emerged by early 2025. Distribution deals and Oscar-positioned documentaries increased international visibility. Despite festival triumphs and renewed attention, production pipelines and funding mechanisms have not responded, leaving directors and crews without new greenlights. Systemic instability now risks dissipating momentum. Producers emphasize the need for consistent film financing and production capacity rather than episodic success tied to favorable political conditions.
Read at IndieWire
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