Brazil’s “The Secret Agent” to compete for Palme d’Or in Cannes
The Brazilian film The Secret Agent, directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho, has been selected for the 78th Cannes Film Festival and will now compete for the Palme d’Or. The announcement was made in Paris on Thursday (Apr. 10) by the festival’s President Iris Knobloch and Director Thierry Frémaux.
The French festival, one of the world’s most prestigious, will be held from May 13 to 24 in Cannes, on the French coast.
This will be the world premiere of the feature by Kleber Mendonça Filho, also the director of such acclaimed films as Aquarius (2016), which had its world premiere at Cannes in 2016, and Bacurau (2019). Both competed for the Palme d’Or at Cannes, the festival’s main prize.
Celebration
On social media, Kleber Mendonça Filho celebrated the choice of the movie to compete for the Palme d’Or.
“The Secret Agent will have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in Competition, it was just announced in Paris. I immediately think of the extraordinary crew and the unforgettable filming last year—and the dream cast and Wagner Moura, a great actor, star, and person,” Mendonça Filho said.
The film is due to be released in Brazil in the second half of the year.
Starring Wagner Moura, the flick is set in the 1970s and tells the story of Marcelo, a university professor who flees from São Paulo to Recife to escape government agents who are looking for him over subversive activities. In the director’s words, the movie combines mystery and suspense, with the city of Recife as the main setting.
