The Brazilian Film Academy announced Monday (Sep. 15) that Kléber Mendonça Filho’s film The Secret Agent (O Agente Secreto in the original) will be Brazil’s representative at the 2026 Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category.
Starring actor Wagner Moura, the movie is set in 1977 during the military dictatorship in Brazil. The plotline follows Marcelo, a technology teacher who tries to start a new life in Recife but ends up immersed in a world of espionage and paranoia.
The Secret Agent, which has not yet been released in Brazil, has garnered a number of awards globally – including Best Director for Kleber Mendonça Filho and Best Actor for Wagner Moura at the Cannes Film Festival.
The race step by step
Being chosen as Brazil’s representative for the Oscars does not mean that the feature has secured a nomination.
Each country names a film as its representative for the competition. From these, the Oscars select the films that will actually compete for the most famous award in world cinema. The ceremony to award the Oscar statuettes is scheduled to take place on March 15, 2026.
Earlier this year, Brazil won its first Oscar, with Walter Salles’ I’m Still Here (Ainda Estou Aqui), in the Best International Feature Film category.
Source: Agência Brasil