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Brazilian films nominated for the Oscars: the complete list

Every Brazilian film nominated for the Oscars, from O Pagador de Promessas to Ainda Estou Aqui, the country's first win, and O Agente Secreto.

By Rankiew · · 4 min read

For decades, Brazil's Oscar story was one of near misses. That changed at the 2025 ceremony, when Ainda Estou Aqui, directed by Walter Salles, became the first Brazilian production to win Best International Feature Film. One year later, Kleber Mendonça Filho's O Agente Secreto earned four nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Wagner Moura. Along the way there were landmark moments like Fernanda Montenegro's nomination for Central do Brasil and the four nominations for Cidade de Deus. Here is the record, in order, with the ceremony year next to each title.

Brazil in Best International Feature

1963 · O Pagador de Promessas · Nominated

A man carries a cross to a church in Salvador to keep a promise and clashes with the priest. It also won the Palme d'Or.

Worth it if: you enjoy classics about faith, pride and stubbornness.

1996 · O Quatrilho · Nominated

Two couples of Italian immigrants in southern Brazil see their lives upended when the partners swap.

Worth it if: you like period romances and immigrant stories.

1998 · O Que É Isso, Companheiro? · Nominated

Based on the real 1969 kidnapping of the American ambassador by young militants during the dictatorship.

Worth it if: you like political thrillers based on real events.

1999 · Central do Brasil · Nominated

Dora, who writes letters for people who cannot read at a Rio station, crosses Brazil with a boy looking for his father.

Worth it if: you want a moving road movie about an unlikely friendship.

2025 · Ainda Estou Aqui · Winner

Eunice Paiva rebuilds her family after the dictatorship takes her husband, Rubens, in 1971.

Worth it if: you want a restrained, powerful story of memory and resistance.

2026 · O Agente Secreto · Nominated

In Recife in 1977, a man on the run from the dictatorship tries to reunite with his son.

Worth it if: you want political suspense with a strong Brazilian identity.

Nominations in other categories

Cidade de Deus

Growing up among gangs in a Rio favela, seen through the eyes of Buscapé, a boy who wants to be a photographer.

Worth it if: you like fast, violent stories with energetic editing.

O Menino e o Mundo

A boy leaves home to look for his father in a colorful, handmade animation with almost no dialogue.

Worth it if: you like poetic animation for adults and children.

Democracia em Vertigem

Petra Costa mixes personal memory with Brazil's political crisis and the fall of Dilma Rousseff.

Worth it if: you want to understand recent Brazilian politics through a personal lens.

Has a Brazilian film ever won an Oscar?

Yes. Ainda Estou Aqui won Best International Feature Film at the 2025 ceremony, the first win for Brazil in that category after four earlier nominations in over sixty years of trying.

How Oscar nominations work

Each branch of the Academy picks the nominees in its own field, so actors choose actors, directors choose directors and editors choose editors. The whole membership can nominate for Best Picture, and the whole membership then votes on the winners. That two-step process is why a film can dominate the nominations and still leave the ceremony with very little.

A quick note on dates: this post uses the year of the ceremony, not the year the film came out. A film released in one year usually competes at the ceremony held early in the next, which is why the same title can appear under two different years depending on the source.

Want to turn this into a watchlist? On Rankiew you can mark what you have seen, rate each title from 1 to 10, write a short review and build a public list to share with friends. It is a simple way to see how much of Oscar history you have actually watched.

#world cinema#oscars#brazilian cinema#best international feature#ainda estou aqui#o agente secreto