Fábio Barreto's O Quatrilho was the first Brazilian film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film since 1962.
Fábio Barreto's O Quatrilho was the first Brazilian film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film since 1962.
Walter Salles' Central do Brasil was nominated in 1999, the last to receive such honor.
Walter Salles' Central do Brasil was nominated in 1999, the last to receive such honor.

Brazil has submitted films for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film[nb 1] 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.[3] 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.[4]

As of 2021, 51 Brazilian films have been submitted for the award. Four of these submissions resulted in nominations for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, but none of them won. Orfeu Negro, a Portuguese language film shot in Brazil by French director Marcel Camus, won the award at the 1959 ceremony, but it was submitted by the French government and thus France was credited as the only recipient of the award.

Statistics

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Films directed by Carlos Diegues (also known as Cacá Diegues) have been chosen to represent Brazil at the Academy Awards six times, more than any other director. He is followed by Nelson Pereira dos Santos, which had four of his films selected. None of their films, however, managed to achieve an Oscar nomination. Three films by Bruno Barreto were submitted, although his biggest success, Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, the second highest-grossing film in the history of Brazilian cinema, was not chosen. Four Days in September got nominated in 1998. Suzana Amaral's 1987 film Hour of the Star was the only Brazilian submission by a female director until The Second Mother, directed by Anna Muylaert, was submitted as the Brazilian's entry for the 88th Academy Awards.

Name Number of
submissions
Carlos Diegues 7
Nelson Pereira dos Santos 4
Bruno Barreto e Walter Salles 3
Héctor Babenco, Luis Sérgio Person, Glauber Rocha e Fábio Barreto 2

Submissions

Below is a list of the films that have been submitted by the Brazilian government for Academy Award consideration. The Brazilian nominee is selected annually by a committee assembled by the Ministry of Culture (formerly the Ministry of Education and Culture).

Year
(Ceremony)		 Film title used in nomination Original title Director(s) Result
1960
(33rd) 		Death Commands Brigandage A Morte Comanda o Cangaço Carlos Coimbra & Walter Guimarães Motta Not nominated
1962
(34th) 		Keeper of Promises [a] O Pagador de Promessas Anselmo Duarte Nominated[5]
1964
(37th) 		Black God, White Devil Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol Glauber Rocha Not nominated
1965
(38th) 		São Paulo Incorporated São Paulo, Sociedade Anônima Luis Sérgio Person Not nominated
1967
(40th) 		The Case of the Naves Brothers O Caso dos Irmãos Naves Luis Sérgio Person Not nominated
1968
(41st) 		The Amorous Ones As Amorosas Walter Hugo Khouri Not nominated
1969
(42nd) 		Antonio das mortes O Dragão da Maldade Contra o Santo Guerreiro Glauber Rocha Not nominated
1970
(43rd) 		Mortal Sin Pecado Mortal Miguel Faria Jr. Not nominated
1971
(44th) 		Pra Quem Fica, Tchau Pra Quem Fica, Tchau Reginaldo Faria Not nominated
1972
(45th) 		How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman Como Era Gostoso o Meu Francês Nelson Pereira dos Santos Not nominated
1973
(46th) 		John, the Knife and the River A Faca e o Rio George Sluizer Not nominated
1974
(47th) 		The Scarecrow's Night A Noite do Espantalho Sérgio Ricardo Not nominated
1975
(48th) 		Ogum's Amulet O Amuleto de Ogum Nelson Pereira dos Santos Not nominated
1976
(49th) 		Xica Xica da Silva Carlos Diegues Not nominated
1977
(50th) 		Tent of Miracles Tenda dos Milagres Nelson Pereira dos Santos Not nominated
1978
(51st) 		The Lyre of Delight A Lira do Delírio Walter Lima Jr. Not nominated
1979
(52nd) 		Bye Bye Brazil Bye Bye Brasil Carlos Diegues Not nominated
1980
(53rd) 		Pixote Pixote, a Lei do Mais Fraco Héctor Babenco Disqualified[6]
1984
(57th) 		Memoirs of Prison Memórias do Cárcere Nelson Pereira dos Santos Not nominated
1986
(59th) 		Hour of the Star A Hora da Estrela Suzana Amaral Not nominated
1987
(60th) 		Subway to the Stars Um Trem para as Estrelas Carlos Diegues Not nominated
1988
(61st) 		The Story of Fausta Romance da Empregada Bruno Barreto Not nominated
1989
(62nd) 		Better Days Ahead Dias Melhores Virão Carlos Diegues Not nominated
1991
(64th) 		Exposure[7] A Grande Arte Walter Salles Not nominated
1995
(68th) 		O Quatrilho O Quatrilho Fábio Barreto Nominated[8]
1996
(69th) 		Tieta of Agreste Tieta do Agreste Carlos Diegues Not nominated
1997
(70th) 		Four Days in September O Que É Isso, Companheiro? Bruno Barreto Nominated[9]
1998
(71st) 		Central Station [b] Central do Brasil Walter Salles Nominated[10]
1999
(72nd) 		Orfeu Orfeu Carlos Diegues Not nominated
2000
(73rd) 		Me, You, Them Eu, Tu, Eles Andrucha Waddington Not nominated
2001
(74th) 		Behind the Sun Abril Despedaçado Walter Salles Not nominated
2002
(75th) 		City of God [c] Cidade de Deus Fernando Meirelles Not nominated
2003
(76th) 		Carandiru Carandiru Héctor Babenco Not nominated
2004
(77th) 		Olga Olga Jayme Monjardim Not nominated
2005
(78th) 		Two Sons of Francisco Dois Filhos de Francisco Breno Silveira Not nominated
2006
(79th) 		Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures Cinema, Aspirinas e Urubus Marcelo Gomes Not nominated
2007
(80th) 		The Year My Parents Went On Vacation O Ano em Que Meus Pais Saíram de Férias Cao Hamburger Made shortlist[11]
2008
(81st) 		Last Stop 174 Última Parada 174 Bruno Barreto Not nominated
2009
(82nd) 		Time of Fear Salve Geral Sérgio Rezende Not nominated
2010
(83rd) 		Lula, the Son of Brazil[12] Lula, o Filho do Brasil Fábio Barreto Not nominated
2011
(84th) 		The Elite Squad 2[13] Tropa de Elite 2: o Inimigo Agora É Outro José Padilha Not nominated
2012
(85th) 		The Clown[14] O Palhaço Selton Mello Not nominated
2013
(86th) 		Neighbouring Sounds[15] O Som ao Redor Kleber Mendonça Filho Not nominated
2014
(87th) 		The Way He Looks[16] Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho Daniel Ribeiro Not nominated
2015
(88th) 		The Second Mother[17] Que Horas Ela Volta? Anna Muylaert Not nominated
2016
(89th) 		Little Secret[18][19] Pequeno Segredo David Schurmann Not nominated
2017
(90th) 		Bingo: The King of the Mornings[20] Bingo: O Rei das Manhãs Daniel Rezende Not nominated
2018
(91st) 		The Great Mystical Circus[21] O Grande Circo Místico Carlos Diegues Not nominated
2019
(92nd) 		The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão[22] A vida invisível de Eurídice Gusmão Karim Aïnouz Not nominated
2020
(93rd) 		Babenco: Tell Me When I Die[23] Babenco: Alguém Tem que Ouvir o Coração e Dizer Parou Bárbara Paz Not nominated
2021
(94th) 		Private Desert[24] Deserto Particular Aly Muritiba Not nominated

See also

Notes

^ a: Also known as The Given Word and The Promise in the English-speaking market.

^ b: Central do Brasil was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. The film's lead actress, Fernanda Montenegro, holds the title as the only Brazilian nominated to an acting category.[25]

^ c: Cidade de Deus was submitted for the 75th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated for the Best Foreign Language award. The film, however, was eventually nominated for four awards—Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Film Editing—at the following year. It shares the title with Kiss of the Spider Woman as the Brazilian film with the highest number of nominations. All of Cidade de Deus' nominees were Brazilians, while Hector Babenco was the only Brazilian nominee for Kiss of the Spider Woman, an American co-production.[25]

  1. ^ The category was previously named the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but this was changed to the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film in April 2019, after the Academy deemed the word "Foreign" to be outdated.[1][2]

References

  1. ^ "Academy announces rules for 92nd Oscars". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  2. ^ "Academy Announces Rule Changes For 92nd Oscars". Forbes. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  3. ^ "Rule Thirteen: Special Rules for the Foreign Language Film Award". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 22 August 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  4. ^ "History of the Academy Awards - Page 2". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 22 June 2008. Retrieved 22 August 2008.
  5. ^ "The 34th Academy Awards (1963) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  6. ^ Harmetz, Aljean. "Nomination Intricacies For Foreign-Film Oscar". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  7. ^ Mendes, Letícia (10 September 2015). "Anna Muylaert é a 1ª mulher em 30 anos a representar o Brasil no Oscar" (in Portuguese). G1. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  8. ^ "The 68th Academy Awards (1996) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  9. ^ "The 70th Academy Awards (1998) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  10. ^ "The 71st Academy Awards (1999) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  11. ^ "'Eklavya' misses out on Oscar glory". Reuters. 16 January 2008. Archived from the original on 8 June 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  12. ^ ""Lula, O Filho do Brasil" vai representar o Brasil no Oscar 2011". ultimosegundo. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
  13. ^ "63 Countries Vie for 2011 Foreign Language Film Oscar". oscars.org. Archived from the original on 21 May 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  14. ^ Cajueiro, Marcelo (21 September 2012). "Brazil sends in 'Clown' to entertain Oscar". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  15. ^ "Brazil picks "O Som Ao Redor" as Oscars entry". Global Post. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  16. ^ "Oscars: Brazil Selects 'The Way He Looks' for Foreign-Language Category". Hollywood Reporter. 18 September 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  17. ^ "Brazil Names Foreign Oscar Submission". IndieWire. 10 September 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  18. ^ Giannini, Alessandro (12 September 2016). "'Pequeno segredo' é o selecionado brasileiro para disputar uma vaga no Oscar(Portuguese)". O Globo. Archived from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  19. ^ Ortega, Rodrigo (12 September 2016). "Brasil indica 'Pequeno segredo' para tentar Oscar; 'Aquarius' fica de fora". G1. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  20. ^ Mango, Agustin (19 September 2017). "Oscars: Brazil Selects 'Bingo - The King of the Mornings' for Foreign-Language Category". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  21. ^ Mango, Agustin (18 September 2018). "Oscars: Brazil Selects 'The Great Mystical Circus' for Foreign-Language Category". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  22. ^ Mango, Agustin (27 August 2019). "Oscars: Brazil Selects 'The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao' for International Feature Category". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  23. ^ "Filme de Bárbara Paz é selecionado para representar o Brasil no Oscar 2021". Noticias da tv. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  24. ^ "'Deserto particular' é indicado pelo Brasil para disputar vaga no Oscar 2022 ('Private Desert' is nominated by Brazil to compete for the Oscar 2022)". 15 October 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  25. ^ a b "Academy Awards Database - List of films nominated for the Academy Awards whose country of origin is Brazil". Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
Categories