INDUSTRY THE VIEW FROM...
THE VIEW FROM…
In the latest of our international industries series, we turn to Brazil – tracing a cinematic tradition shaped by political upheaval that’s enjoying a renewed wave of global recognition BRAZIL
WORDS OLIVER WEBB
B razilian cinema is experiencing a determined resurgence. In 2024 alone, 312 local feature films were released theatrically – a record high and more than double the annual output seen before 2017. That surge has coincided with unprecedented global visibility. Walter Salles’ I’m Still Here (2024) not only earned nominations for best picture and best actress for Fernanda Torres at the 97th Academy Awards, but also
film, television and theatre since the eighties, its evolution is inseparable from the country’s political history. “I started in the period following Cinema Novo, the Brazilian Nouvelle Vague,” says Torres. “Cinema Novo was marked by a remarkable generation of directors – Glauber Rocha, Nelson Pereira dos Santos, Arnaldo Jabor and Joaquim Pedro de Andrade. It was an intellectual cinema that sought to translate Brazil. By the time I became an actress, that
became the first Brazilian-produced film to win best international feature. The following year, Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent (2025) extended that momentum with multiple nominations, marking a second consecutive best
picture nod for a Brazilian film. A FRAGMENTED INDUSTRY
Brazilian cinema has passed through distinct historical phases. For actress Fernanda Torres, who has worked across
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