- Title: 'The Secret Agent' success added momentum to Brazilian cinema, director says
- Date: 14th March 2026
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (MARCH 2, 2026) (REUTERS ) (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) DIRECTOR, KLEBER MENDONCA FILHO, SAYING: "'The Secret Agent' was a challenge I wanted to take on. It was a major challenge: working with Wagner Moura, setting the story in the 1970s, revisiting the history of the country and of Recife, and not using the word dictatorship. All of that was a very interesting c
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: Brazil Brazilian cinema Mendonca Oscars The Secret Agent
- Location: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL / PARIS, FRANCE / VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
- City: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL / PARIS, FRANCE / VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
- Country: Brazil
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Film,South America / Central America
- Reuters ID: LVA001281710032026RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Brazilian director Kleber Mendonca Filho said during an exclusive interview with Reuters ahead of the Academy Awards ceremony, his Oscar-nominated film "The Secret Agent" marked a strong moment for Brazilian cinema, as images from the country gained recognition abroad and audiences saw themselves reflected on screen.
The film, a political thriller, about an academic on the run during Brazil’s dictatorship in the 1970s, has already picked up major awards at the Golden Globes and Cannes and is now up for four Oscars, including best picture and best actor. Its success comes on the heels of the unprecedented run of “I’m Still Here,” which last year became Brazil’s first film to win an Academy Award, resetting expectations for Brazilian cinema.
Mendonca Filho said that Brazilian audiovisual production helped build a vision of the country, generated jobs and identity, and that making a film abroad could be his next challenge.
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