Walter Salles ' Central do Brasil was the last Brazilian film nominated in 1999 in this category.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 2023, 52 Brazilian films have been submitted for the award. Four of these submissions resulted in nominations for the Best Foreign Language Film category, 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 recipient of the award.
Statistics
Films directed by Carlos Diegues (also known as Cacá Diegues) have been chosen to represent Brazil at the Academy Awards seven 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 (1997) got nominated in 1998.
Suzana Amaral 's Hour of the Star (1987) became the first film directed by a woman to be submitted, only twenty-nine years later another film directed by a female filmmaker was selected to be submitted as the Brazilian's entry, Anna Muylaert 's The Second Mother (2015), with Babenco: Tell Me When I Die (2019), by Bárbara Paz , being the last.
Brazilian last nomination in the category was Central Station (1998), at the 71st Academy Awards, with Fernanda Montenegro being nominated in the Best Actress category that night. Even though City of God was selected as the Brazilian submission for the 75th Academy Awards , the film was famously snubbed, and subsequently nominated in the following ceremony, the 76th Academy Awards , for the Best Director , Best Adapted Screenplay , Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing , categories.
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
Language(s)
Director(s)
Result
1960 (33rd)
Death Commands Brigandage
A Morte Comanda o Cangaço
Portuguese
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)
Case of the Naves Brothers
O Caso dos Irmãos Naves
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
Reginaldo Faria
Not nominated
1972 (45th)
How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman
Como Era Gostoso o Meu Francês
Portuguese , French , Tupi
Nelson Pereira dos Santos
Not nominated
1973 (46th)
João and the Knife
A Faca e o Rio
Portuguese
George Sluizer
Not nominated
1974 (47th)
The Scarecrow's Night
A Noite do Espantalho
Sérgio Ricardo
Not nominated
1975 (48th)
The Amulet of Ogum
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
1980 (53rd)
Bye Bye Brazil
Bye Bye Brasil
Carlos Diegues
Not nominated
1981 (54th)
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
Portuguese, English , Spanish
Walter Salles
Not nominated
1995 (68th)
O Quatrilho
Portuguese
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
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
Héctor Babenco
Not nominated
2004 (77th)
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
German , Portuguese
Marcelo Gomes
Not nominated
2007 (80th)
The Year My Parents Went On Vacation
O Ano em Que Meus Pais Saíram de Férias
Portuguese, Yiddish , Hebrew
Cao Hamburger
Made shortlist[11]
2008 (81st)
Last Stop 174
Última Parada 174
Portuguese
Bruno Barreto
Not nominated
2009 (82nd)
Time of Fear
Salve Geral
Sérgio Rezende
Not nominated
2010 (83rd)
Lula, Son of Brazil [12]
Lula, o Filho do Brasil
Fábio Barreto
Not nominated
2011 (84th)
Elite Squad: The Enemy Within [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
Portuguese, English
David Schurmann
Not nominated
2017 (90th)
Bingo: The King of the Mornings [20]
Bingo: O Rei das Manhãs
Portuguese
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
2022 (95th)
Mars One [25]
Marte Um
Gabriel Martins
Not nominated
2023 (96th)
Pictures of Ghosts [26]
Retratos Fantasmas
Kleber Mendonça Filho
Not nominated
^ 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.[27]
^ 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.[27]
^ 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]