Check out the history of nominations for Brazilian cinema at the biggest award in the world, the highlighted films and interesting facts about the search for the statuette
Brazil’s relationship with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is marked by great works, globally recognized talents and that persistent question: “how many times has Brazil been nominated for an Oscar?”.
Although the country has never won an official statuette in competitive categories to date, the Brazilian presence in the awards is more extensive than many imagine. In total, considering all categories (technical, short films, documentaries and main films), Brazil has received more than 20 nominations throughout history.
In the category most coveted by non-English speaking countries — Best International Film (formerly Best Foreign Film) — Brazil was officially nominated four times.
Nominations for Best International Film
This is the category that generates the greatest public expectations. To compete, the country must submit an official representative, who passes through sieves until reaching the five finalists. Brazil was among the top five in the world on four confirmed occasions:
- The Promise Payer (1963): Directed by Anselmo Duarte, it is to date the only Brazilian film to win the Palme d’Or at Cannes. He was Brazil’s pioneer at the Oscars;
- O Quadrilho (1996): Directed by Fábio Barreto, the film about Italian immigration in Rio Grande do Sul surprised by securing the spot, competing against major films;
- What’s That, Mate? (1998): Based on the book by Fernando Gabeira and directed by Bruno Barreto, the film brought the political thriller of the military dictatorship to the Hollywood spotlight;
- Central do Brasil (1999): Perhaps the most painful defeat for the Brazilians. Walter Salles’ film was the favorite of the public and critics, but lost to the Italian film A Vida é Bela.
The City of God phenomenon
Many wonder why City of God (2002) is not on the list above. The answer reveals one of Brazil’s records for awards.
Fernando Meirelles’ film was not nominated for Best International Film (it was left out of the final list at the time). However, due to its overwhelming repercussion in the United States, the Academy revived it the following year (2004) to compete in the main categories, competing on an equal footing with American productions.
Cidade de Deus holds the record for the Brazilian film with the most nominations in a single ceremony, competing in four categories:
- Best Direction (Fernando Meirelles);
- Best Adapted Screenplay (Bráulio Mantovani);
- Best Editing (Daniel Rezende);
- Best Cinematography (César Charlone).
Fernanda Montenegro and the historical indication
In 1999, Fernanda Montenegro made history by becoming the first Latin American (and only Brazilian to date) nominated for the Best Actress award.
Her performance as Dora in Central do Brasil is considered one of the Academy’s biggest injustices, having lost the statuette to Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare in Love). The nomination consolidated international respect for Brazilian dramaturgy.
Presence in documentaries and animation
In recent years, Brazilian cinema has demonstrated strength in the non-fiction and animation categories, accumulating important nominations:
Best Documentary
Brazil demonstrated the power of its cinema verité with three high-profile nominations:
- Lixo Extraordinário (2011): Co-production with the United Kingdom on the work of Vik Muniz;
- The Salt of the Earth (2015): About the life and work of photographer Sebastião Salgado;
- Democracy in Vertigo (2020): Directed by Petra Costa, it documented the impeachment process of President Dilma Rousseff.
Best Animation
- The Boy and the World (2016): Alê Abreu’s film, with its artisanal and unique style, competed for the statuette against giants Disney and Pixar, marking the first time that a Brazilian feature film competed in this category;
- Rio (2012): Although it is an American production (Blue Sky Studios), it was directed by Brazilian Carlos Saldanha and received a nomination for Best Original Song.
Curiosities and other records
The first time: Brazil’s debut at the Oscars was musical. In 1945, the song “Rio de Janeiro”, by Ary Barroso, competed for Best Original Song for the American film Brazil.
The Black Orpheus case: The classic Black Orpheus (1959) won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. However, although filmed in Brazil with Brazilian actors and based on a play by Vinicius de Moraes, the award was credited to France, the country that financed the production.
Coproductions: Director Hector Babenco (Argentine, naturalized Brazilian) was nominated for Best Director for Kiss of the Spider Woman (1986). The film won the Oscar for Best Actor for William Hurt, being a Brazil-USA co-production.
Where to watch the top nominees
For those who want to discover “Oscar standard” Brazilian cinema, most of the works are available on streaming:
- Central Brazil: Globoplay / Apple TV (rental);
- City of God: Netflix / Max / Globoplay;
- Vertigo Democracy: Netflix;
- The Boy and the World: Globoplay / Apple TV (rental);
- What’s That, Mate?: Globoplay.
Brazil’s legacy at the Oscars goes far beyond the lack of victories. The nominations served to project national culture, open doors for directors and actors in Hollywood and prove that the Brazilian film industry has the technical and artistic quality to compete with the largest in the world. Every year, new productions like I’m Still Here renew the hope of bringing home the first golden statuette.
