Brazil has submitted films for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film since 1960. The award is handed out annually by the United States–based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to a feature length motion picture produced outside the U.S. that contains primarily non-English language dialogue. It was not created until the 1956 Academy Awards, in which a competitive Academy Award of Merit was created for non-English speaking films, and has been given annually since.
As of 2026, Brazil has been nominated six times, winning once for I'm Still Here (2024).
History At the 1959 ceremony, Black Orpheus, a Portuguese language film shot on location in Rio de Janeiro with a large Brazilian cast and crew, won the award representing France. Since the film was directed by French filmmaker Marcel Camus and produced by French companies, the film was able to be nominated as France's official submission.
In 1986, Kiss of the Spider Woman by Héctor Babenco became the first Brazilian co-production to get nominated for Best Picture. However, it was ineligible to be selected as the official submission because it was mostly in English.
Statistics Seven films directed by Carlos Diegues (also known as Cacá Diegues) were chosen to represent Brazil, more than any other filmmaker. Followed by Nelson Pereira dos Santos and Walter Salles, with four each.
Three films by Bruno Barreto were submitted, although his biggest box-office success, Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands (1976), was not chosen. His 1997 drama film Four Days in September was nominated at the 70th Academy Awards.
Three films by Kleber Mendonça Filho were submitted, even though some of his most popular productions (Aquarius and Bacurau) were famously snubbed.
Suzana Amaral's Hour of the Star (1987) was the first film directed by a woman to be submitted. Only twenty-nine years later another film directed by a female filmmaker was selected as the Brazilian's entry: Anna Muylaert's The Second Mother (2015). Four years later, Babenco: Tell Me When I Die (2019), by Bárbara Paz became the third and last, as of 2026.
Gabriel Martins's Mars One (2022) marked the first film directed by a Black filmmaker to be chosen as the country submission.
Number ofsubmissions NameFilms 7 Carlos DieguesXica, Bye Bye Brazil, Subway to the Stars, Better Days Ahead, Tieta of Agreste, Orfeu and The Great Mystical Circus 4 Nelson Pereira dos SantosHow Tasty Was My Little Frenchman, The Amulet of Ogum, Tenda dos Milagres and Memoirs of PrisonWalter SallesA Grande Arte, Central Station, Behind the Sun and I'm Still Here 3 Bruno BarretoThe Story of Fausta, Four Days in September and Last Stop 174Kleber Mendonça FilhoNeighbouring Sounds, Pictures of Ghosts and The Secret Agent
Submissions
O Pagador de Promessas or (Keeper of Promises, 1962), directed by Anselmo Duarte, was the first Brazilian submission nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, at the 35th Academy Awards.
At the 71st Academy Awards, Central Station (1998) received a nomination, alongside Fernanda Montenegro in the Best Actress category. It marked the first nomination for a Brazilian actress in an acting category.
At the 75th Academy Awards, even though City of God (2002) was selected as the Brazilian submission, the film was famously snubbed and the decision was met with heavy criticism, since it was considered the category's front-runner. In the subsequent year, at the 76th Academy Awards, the film was nominated in four categories: Best Director for Fernando Meirelles, Best Adapted Screenplay for Bráulio Mantovani, Best Cinematography for César Charlone, and Best Film Editing for Daniel Rezende.
At the 97th Academy Awards, Brazil won the award for the first time with I'm Still Here (2024), while the film was also nominated for Best Picture and Best Actress for Fernanda Torres, marking the first time that a Brazilian film, shot in Portuguese, was nominated for Best Picture.
At the 98th Academy Awards, The Secret Agent (2025) was nominated in the category alongside nominations for Best Picture, Best Casting, and Best Actor for Wagner Moura, marking the first nomination for a Brazilian male acting category and the second year in a row that a Brazilian film was nominated for Best Picture.
The Brazilian nominee is selected by a committee of the Academia Brasileira de Cinema since 2017.
Most of the films are primary in Brazilian Portuguese, with the exception of Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures (2005), which is mainly in German despite being set in the Brazilian Northeast region. Below is a list of the films that have been submitted for consideration.
Year(Ceremony) Film title used in nomination Original title Language(s) Director(s) Result 1960(33rd) Death Commands Brigandage A Morte Comanda o CangaçoBrazilian Portuguese Carlos Coimbra and Walter Guimarães Motta 1962(35th) Keeper of Promises O Pagador de Promessas Anselmo Duarte 1964(37th) Black God, White Devil Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol Glauber Rocha 1965(38th) São Paulo, Incorporated São Paulo, Sociedade Anônima Luis Sérgio Person 1967(40th) Case of the Naves Brothers O Caso dos Irmãos Naves 1968(41st) The Amorous Ones As Amorosas Walter Hugo Khouri 1969(42nd) Antonio das Mortes O Dragão da Maldade contra o Santo Guerreiro Glauber Rocha 1970(43rd) Mortal Sin Pecado Mortal Miguel Faria Jr. 1971(44th) Pra Quem Fica, Tchau Reginaldo Faria 1972(45th) How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman Como Era Gostoso o Meu FrancêsPortuguese, French, Tupi Nelson Pereira dos Santos 1973(46th) João and the Knife A Faca e o RioBrazilian Portuguese George Sluizer 1974(47th) The Scarecrow's Night A Noite do Espantalho Sérgio Ricardo 1975(48th) The Amulet of Ogum O Amuleto de Ogum Nelson Pereira dos Santos 1976(49th) Xica Xica da Silva Carlos Diegues 1977(50th) Tent of Miracles Tenda dos Milagres Nelson Pereira dos Santos 1978(51st) The Lyre of Delight A Lira do Delírio Walter Lima Jr. 1980(53rd) Bye Bye Brazil Bye Bye Brasil Carlos Diegues 1981(54th) Pixote Pixote: A Lei do Mais Fraco Héctor Babenco 1984(57th) Memoirs of Prison Memórias do Cárcere Nelson Pereira dos Santos 1986(59th) Hour of the Star A Hora da Estrela Suzana Amaral 1987(60th) Subway to the Stars Um Trem para as Estrelas Carlos Diegues 1988(61st) The Story of Fausta Romance da Empregada Bruno Barreto 1989(62nd) Better Days Ahead Dias Melhores Virão Carlos Diegues 1991(64th) Exposure A Grande ArteBrazilian Portuguese, English, Spanish Walter Salles 1995(68th) O QuatrilhoBrazilian Portuguese Fábio Barreto 1996(69th) Tieta of Agreste Tieta do Agreste Carlos Diegues 1997(70th) Four Days in September O Que é Isso, Companheiro? Bruno Barreto 1998(71st) Central Station Central do Brasil Walter Salles 1999(72nd) Orfeu Carlos Diegues 2000(73rd) Me, You, Them Eu, Tu, Eles Andrucha Waddington 2001(74th) Behind the Sun Abril Despedaçado Walter Salles 2002(75th) City of God Cidade de Deus Fernando Meirelles 2003(76th) Carandiru Héctor Babenco 2004(77th) Olga Jayme Monjardim 2005(78th) Two Sons of Francisco Dois Filhos de Francisco Breno Silveira 2006(79th) Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures Cinema, Aspirinas e Urubus German, Brazilian Portuguese Marcelo Gomes 2007(80th) The Year My Parents Went on Vacation O Ano em que Meus Pais Saíram de FériasBrazilian Portuguese, Yiddish, Hebrew Cao Hamburger 2008(81st) Last Stop 174 Última Parada 174Brazilian Portuguese Bruno Barreto 2009(82nd) Time of Fear Salve Geral Sérgio Rezende 2010(83rd) Lula, Son of Brazil Lula: O Filho do Brasil Fábio Barreto 2011(84th) Elite Squad: The Enemy Within Tropa de Elite 2: O Inimigo Agora é Outro José Padilha 2012(85th) The Clown O Palhaço Selton Mello 2013(86th) Neighbouring Sounds O Som ao Redor Kleber Mendonça Filho 2014(87th) The Way He Looks Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho Daniel Ribeiro 2015(88th) The Second Mother Que Horas Ela Volta? Anna Muylaert 2016(89th) Little Secret Pequeno SegredoBrazilian Portuguese, English David Schurmann 2017(90th) Bingo: The King of the Mornings Bingo: O Rei das ManhãsBrazilian Portuguese Daniel Rezende 2018(91st) The Great Mystical Circus O Grande Circo Místico Carlos Diegues 2019(92nd) The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão A Vida Invisível de Eurídice Gusmão Karim Aïnouz 2020(93rd) Babenco: Tell Me When I Die Babenco – Alguém Tem que Ouvir o Coração e Dizer: Parou Bárbara Paz 2021(94th) Private Desert Deserto Particular Aly Muritiba 2022(95th) Mars One Marte Um Gabriel Martins 2023(96th) Pictures of Ghosts Retratos Fantasmas Kleber Mendonça Filho 2024(97th)I'm Still HereAinda Estou AquiWalter Salles 2025(98th) The Secret Agent O Agente Secreto Brazilian Portuguese, German Kleber Mendonça Filho 2026(99th) Gugu's World Feito Pipa Brazilian Portuguese Allan Deberton
Shortlisted films Following a number of controversies, since 2022, Brazil has announced a list of finalists that varied in number over the years (from 5 to 6 films) before announcing its official submission. The following films have been shortlisted: YearFilms2022Charcoal · A Mãe · Pedro, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea · Pacified · Paloma2023Alien Nights · Our Dream · A Strange Path · Toll · Vultures2024Bittersweet Rain · Cidade; Campo · Heartless · Motel Destino · Power Alley2025Baby · The Blue Trail · Manas · Same Old West · White House2026 100 Days · · · On Behalf of My Son ·
See also List of Academy Award winners and nominees for Best International Feature Film List of Academy Awards nominations for Brazilian films Cinema of Brazil
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