History of Brazilian Cinema: From the First Screenings to the Oscar
Brazilian culture · film history · Portuguese through cinema
Brazilian Cinema Has Been Popular, Political, Experimental, Commercial, Censored, Rebuilt—and Impossible to Reduce to One Movement.
Brazilian cinema did not begin with City of God, and it did not suddenly become internationally relevant when I’m Still Here won an Oscar. Its history stretches from the first public screenings in Rio de Janeiro in the 1890s to chanchadas, studio experiments, Cinema Novo, dictatorship-era filmmaking, the collapse of the early 1990s, the Retomada and a new wave of international recognition in 2025 and 2026.
It is also a history of who was able to make films, which films survived, what audiences actually watched, how the State supported and restricted cinema, and how filmmakers kept arguing about what a “Brazilian cinema” should look like.
Brazilian cinema in a few milestones
1896 — first documented public film screening in Brazil
1898 — Affonso Segreto films Guanabara Bay; June 19 later becomes Brazilian Cinema Day
1940s–1950s — Atlântida and popular chanchadas
1950s — Vera Cruz pursues an industrial studio model
1962 — O Pagador de Promessas wins the Palme d’Or
1960s — Cinema Novo reshapes Brazilian film language
1964–1985 — filmmaking under dictatorship, censorship and state support
1990 — Embrafilme is dismantled; production collapses
mid-1990s — the Retomada
2025 — I’m Still Here wins International Feature Film at the Oscars
2026 — The Secret Agent receives four Oscar nominations
cinema can mean the art/industry of film or the movie theater.
O cinema brasileiro = Brazilian cinema
Vamos ao cinema? = Shall we go to the movies?
1896–1898
When Did Cinema Begin in Brazil? “The First Film” Is Not One Simple Date
The first documented public film screening in Brazil took place in Rio de Janeiro on July 8, 1896, at Rua do Ouvidor, 57. Contemporary reports described an omniógrafo projecting moving scenes onto a screen.[1]
On June 19, 1898, Italian-born cameraman Affonso Segreto returned to Rio aboard the ship Brésil and filmed the entrance to Guanabara Bay with a Lumière camera. That date later became the basis for Brazil’s Dia do Cinema Brasileiro.[2]
But the Biblioteca Nacional itself uses cautious wording: Segreto’s images “would have been” the first film made in Brazil. The first screening, first images filmed in Brazil, first fiction film and first surviving film are different historical questions.
A useful historical rule
Claims about the “first movie” often depend on what is being counted—and on which materials survived long enough to be documented.
The history we can still see
Why Preservation Is Part of the History of Brazilian Cinema
Early film stock was fragile and highly flammable. Archives were unevenly funded, and technological change repeatedly made older formats difficult to store or project. Brazil’s Ministry of Culture notes that technological transitions in cinema have contributed to the mass disappearance and destruction of works made in formats later treated as obsolete.[3]
That means film history is shaped by absence. A director, genre or production center may appear less important simply because fewer copies survived. The Cinemateca Brasileira holds materials from studios such as Atlântida and Vera Cruz as well as silent-era films and documentation that help reconstruct histories no streaming catalog can show by itself.[4]
1940s–1950s
Chanchadas: Popular Brazilian Cinema Fills the Screen
Atlântida Cinematográfica became especially famous for chanchadas: popular musical comedies mixing Carnival, songs, parody, urban humor and stars audiences already knew. Oscarito and Grande Otelo became central figures in this world. The Enciclopédia Itaú Cultural identifies Atlântida particularly with the films known as chanchadas.[5]
Some critics dismissed chanchadas as formulaic or artistically inferior. But they attracted large audiences and often parodied imported genres and Brazilian public life. That creates a recurring tension in Brazilian film history: what critics considered prestigious was not always what Brazilian audiences most wanted to watch.
A different project in São Paulo
Vera Cruz Was Not Simply Another Chanchada Studio
The Companhia Cinematográfica Vera Cruz represented a different ambition in the early 1950s: an industrially organized, technically sophisticated studio based in São Paulo. Itaú Cultural emphasizes the technical and artistic quality of its productions and its attempt to build an industrial Brazilian cinema.[6]
Atlântida and Vera Cruz therefore belong in the same mid-century history, but they were not the same project. Their contrast helps explain the next argument: younger filmmakers would question whether Brazilian cinema needed either popular formulas or expensive foreign-style studio structures in order to matter.
1962
Brazil Won the Palme d’Or Decades Before Its First International-Feature Oscar
Anselmo Duarte’s O Pagador de Promessas won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1962. Cannes identifies it as the first Brazilian Palme d’Or.[7]
Based on Dias Gomes’s play, the film follows Zé do Burro, whose religious promise brings him into conflict with institutions after his journey to Salvador. The prize is a useful reminder that Brazilian cinema’s international history did not begin with the Academy Awards.
1960s
Cinema Novo: New Images for an Unequal Country
Cinema Novo brought together filmmakers including Glauber Rocha, Nelson Pereira dos Santos, Joaquim Pedro de Andrade, Cacá Diegues, Leon Hirszman and Ruy Guerra. Their films confronted poverty, hunger, land, political power, colonial structures, the sertão, urban inequality and the contradictions of modernization.
Itaú Cultural describes the movement partly through its criticism of production models associated with both Vera Cruz and Atlântida and its search for forms more appropriate to Brazilian social and material conditions.[8]
Rio, 40 Graus
Nelson Pereira dos Santos’s 1955 film is often treated as a precursor, centering lives and urban spaces rarely prioritized by commercial cinema.
Vidas Secas
The 1963 adaptation of Graciliano Ramos follows a poor family facing drought and exploitation in the sertão.
Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol
Glauber Rocha’s 1964 film combines politics, religion, myth and violence.
Terra em Transe
A 1967 political allegory of power and crisis in an imagined Latin American nation.
O Dragão da Maldade…
Glauber’s 1969 film revisits the sertão in the political environment after the 1964 coup.
Macunaíma
Joaquim Pedro de Andrade’s 1969 adaptation mixes modernism, satire and popular culture.
“Uma câmera na mão e uma ideia na cabeça”
The phrase is famously associated with Glauber Rocha and the cultural memory of Cinema Novo. It captures a rejection of the idea that meaningful cinema required a giant studio apparatus, even though it should not be read as a literal production formula for every film.
1964–1985
During the Dictatorship, the State Could Finance Cinema and Censor It
The military dictatorship imposed censorship and political repression while also developing institutions that supported national film production. Embrafilme, created in 1969, became important in production, financing, distribution and market access. A historical project on the dictatorship describes the paradox directly: the State could sponsor filmmakers whose politics were far from those of the regime.[9]
Embrafilme should therefore not be described simply as the censorship agency. Censorship operated through other state structures. Pra Frente, Brasil became a striking example of this contradiction: a film connected to public support that depicted torture and political violence and then faced censorship.[10]
Two things were true at once.
The dictatorship restricted artistic expression, and parts of the same State helped finance and distribute Brazilian cinema. The relationship was contradictory rather than simple.
Late 1960s–1980s
Cinema Marginal, Boca do Lixo and Pornochanchada Were Not the Same Thing
Cinema Marginal is associated with filmmakers such as Rogério Sganzerla and Júlio Bressane and works such as O Bandido da Luz Vermelha. Its films often embraced fragmentation, provocation, low budgets and a deliberately abrasive relationship with mass culture.
São Paulo’s Boca do Lixo developed into a dense production ecosystem where filmmakers, technicians, producers and distributors worked close together. Itaú Cultural treats it as an important site for both popular and marginal cinema.[11]
Pornochanchada, meanwhile, refers especially to commercially oriented films—often comedies—with erotic appeal from the late 1960s into the early 1980s. It could share spaces and workers with other Boca do Lixo productions, but it was not simply another name for Cinema Marginal.
Who gets to direct?
Black Brazilian Cinema Is a Question of Authorship as Well as Representation
Black performers have been present throughout Brazilian film history, with Grande Otelo becoming one of its most important stars. But being visible on screen is different from controlling the camera, script and production.
Adélia Sampaio’s Amor Maldito (1984) is recognized by Brazilian cultural institutions as the first feature film directed by a Black woman in Brazil.[12] The film also centered a relationship between two women, making its place in Brazilian cinema significant across race, gender and sexuality.
Later Black filmmakers and movements continued to challenge who receives funding, who gets represented as complex human beings, who reaches theaters and who enters the official historical canon.
1990–1992
The Production System Nearly Collapsed
In 1990, President Fernando Collor’s government dismantled Embrafilme and other federal audiovisual structures. Because Embrafilme had become deeply involved in financing and distribution, the shock was severe.
A historical overview of the Cinema da Retomada notes that in 1992 only one Brazilian feature film reached the commercial market.[13]
This is why the Retomada is better understood first as an industrial and institutional recovery than as a single aesthetic school.
Mid-1990s
The Retomada: Brazilian Cinema Rebuilds
New incentive mechanisms and audiovisual policies helped production recover. Carla Camurati’s Carlota Joaquina, Princesa do Brazil, commercially released in 1995, became the symbolic landmark most often associated with the Retomada.[14]
Films including O Quatrilho, O Que É Isso, Companheiro? and Central do Brasil returned Brazilian cinema to major international awards conversations.
Central do Brasil
At the 1999 Academy Awards, Walter Salles’s Central do Brasil received two nominations: Foreign Language Film for Brazil and Actress in a Leading Role for Fernanda Montenegro.[15]
That history became especially resonant decades later when Walter Salles returned to the Academy Awards with I’m Still Here, starring Montenegro’s daughter, Fernanda Torres.
2000s–2010s
City of God Expanded Global Visibility—but Brazil Was Never One Cinematic Image
Cidade de Deus, directed by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, became one of the most internationally visible Brazilian films of the early 2000s. Its global reach helped define expectations of Brazilian urban cinema for a generation of foreign viewers.
But Brazilian cinema cannot be reduced to Rio, favelas or violence. Films from other regions and other traditions increasingly challenged that narrow image. Pernambuco became especially influential through filmmakers such as Kleber Mendonça Filho.
Que Horas Ela Volta? (2015)
Anna Muylaert uses domestic work and family intimacy to explore class and social hierarchy.
Aquarius (2016)
A woman’s refusal to leave her apartment becomes a story about memory, property, class and urban transformation.
Bacurau (2019)
Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles combine western, thriller, science fiction and political allegory in Brazil’s Northeast.
Retratos Fantasmas (2023)
A documentary about Recife’s movie theaters, urban memory and the spaces where cinema itself was experienced.
2025–2026
Brazil’s Oscar Breakthrough—and the Next Wave Arrived Immediately
2025: Ainda Estou Aqui / I’m Still Here
Walter Salles’s Ainda Estou Aqui won International Feature Film for Brazil at the 97th Academy Awards. It was also nominated for Best Picture, while Fernanda Torres was nominated for Actress in a Leading Role.[16]
It became the first film representing Brazil to win the Academy’s international-feature category. Its story of the Paiva family during the military dictatorship also connected the country’s latest awards breakthrough with a political period Brazilian filmmakers had been confronting on screen for decades.
2025 Cannes / 2026 Oscars: O Agente Secreto
At Cannes in 2025, Kleber Mendonça Filho won Best Director for O Agente Secreto, and Wagner Moura won Best Actor.[17]
At the 2026 Academy Awards, The Secret Agent received four nominations: Best Picture, International Feature Film, Actor in a Leading Role for Wagner Moura and Casting for Gabriel Domingues.[18]
It did not win those categories—Norway’s Sentimental Value won International Feature and Michael B. Jordan won Best Actor—but the nominations showed that the renewed global attention to Brazilian cinema was not confined to one film.[18]
Brazilian cinema did not suddenly “return” in 2025.
The awards are historic. The cinema that produced them had been evolving, struggling, rebuilding and reaching international audiences for more than a century.
Brazilian films can show you Brazil. Portuguese lets you hear what the characters are actually saying.
Subtitles give you plot. Portuguese gives you register, humor, regional accents, slang, hesitation and the gap between what a character says and what they mean. Conversational in 20 Weeks builds the language foundation to hear more of the film itself.
Learn Portuguese through movies
How Brazilians Talk About Films
| Portuguese | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| o filme | film / movie | Esse filme é brasileiro. |
| o cinema | cinema / film / movie theater | Gosto de cinema brasileiro. |
| o longa-metragem | feature film | É o primeiro longa da diretora. |
| o curta-metragem | short film | Often shortened to curta. |
| o diretor / a diretora | director | Quem é a diretora? |
| o roteiro | screenplay / script | Gostei do roteiro. |
| o elenco | cast | O elenco é excelente. |
| a atuação | acting / performance | A atuação dela é incrível. |
| a trilha sonora | soundtrack / score | Adorei a trilha sonora. |
| a bilheteria | box office | Foi um sucesso de bilheteria. |
| estrear | premiere / open / release | O filme estreia sexta. |
| estar em cartaz | be showing in theaters | Ainda está em cartaz? |
| ser indicado a | be nominated for | Foi indicado ao Oscar. |
Recommend a Brazilian movie naturally
A century in milestones
Brazilian Cinema Timeline
First documented public film screening in Brazil.[1]
Affonso Segreto films Guanabara Bay.[2]
Atlântida is founded and becomes closely associated with chanchadas.[5]
Vera Cruz pursues an industrial studio model.[6]
O Pagador de Promessas wins the Palme d’Or.[7]
Cinema Novo becomes one of Brazil’s defining film movements.[8]
Embrafilme is created.[9]
Amor Maldito becomes the first Brazilian feature directed by a Black woman.[12]
Only one Brazilian feature reaches the commercial market.[13]
Carlota Joaquina becomes a landmark of the Retomada.[14]
Central do Brasil receives two Oscar nominations.[15]
I’m Still Here wins International Feature Film at the Oscars.[16]
O Agente Secreto wins Best Director and Best Actor at Cannes.[17]
The Secret Agent receives four Oscar nominations.[18]
FAQ
History of Brazilian Cinema: Frequently Asked Questions
When did cinema begin in Brazil?
The first documented public screening took place in Rio de Janeiro on July 8, 1896. Affonso Segreto’s June 19, 1898 filming of Guanabara Bay became another foundational date, although “first film” claims remain historiographically complex.[1][2]
What is a chanchada?
A popular Brazilian musical-comedy form especially associated with the 1940s–1950s, Carnival, parody and Atlântida.
What was Cinema Novo?
A major Brazilian film movement associated with filmmakers such as Glauber Rocha and Nelson Pereira dos Santos, addressing social inequality, politics and national identity while seeking new cinematic forms.[8]
Was Embrafilme Brazil’s censorship agency?
No. It was a state film company central to production and distribution. Censorship operated through other government structures, creating the paradox that the State could support and censor cinema at the same time.[9]
What was the Retomada?
The recovery of Brazilian film production in the mid-1990s after the collapse of the early 1990s. Carlota Joaquina became its best-known symbolic starting point.[13]
What Brazilian film won the Palme d’Or?
O Pagador de Promessas, directed by Anselmo Duarte, in 1962.[7]
Who was the first Black woman to direct a Brazilian feature?
Adélia Sampaio, with Amor Maldito (1984).[12]
Did Central Station win an Oscar?
No. It received two nominations in 1999: Foreign Language Film and Actress in a Leading Role for Fernanda Montenegro.[15]
What Oscar did I’m Still Here win?
International Feature Film in 2025. It was also nominated for Best Picture, and Fernanda Torres was nominated for Actress in a Leading Role.[16]
How many Oscar nominations did The Secret Agent receive?
Four in 2026: Best Picture, International Feature Film, Actor in a Leading Role and Casting.[18]
Sources
Research Behind This Guide
- Fundação Biblioteca Nacional — chronology of the 1896 public screening.
- Fundação Biblioteca Nacional — Affonso Segreto and Brazilian Cinema Day.
- Ministério da Cultura — audiovisual preservation manual.
- Enciclopédia Itaú Cultural — Cinemateca Brasileira.
- Enciclopédia Itaú Cultural — Atlântida.
- Enciclopédia Itaú Cultural — Companhia Cinematográfica Vera Cruz.
- Festival de Cannes — O Pagador de Promessas, Palme d’Or 1962.
- Enciclopédia Itaú Cultural — Cinema Novo.
- Memórias da Ditadura — cinema, censorship and state sponsorship.
- Memórias da Ditadura — Pra Frente, Brasil.
- Enciclopédia Itaú Cultural — Boca do Lixo.
- CAIXA Cultural — Adélia Sampaio.
- Memórias da Ditadura — Cinema de Retomada.
- ANCINE — Brazilian theatrical releases 1995–2024.
- Academy Awards 1999 — Central Station.
- Academy Awards 2025 — I’m Still Here.
- Festival de Cannes 2025 — The Secret Agent awards.
- Academy Awards 2026 — The Secret Agent nominations.
Watch the film. Then hear the language inside it.
Brazilian Cinema Becomes a Different Experience When You Understand Portuguese.
Films give you accents, humor, class, history and culture in motion. Conversational in 20 Weeks helps you build the Portuguese to understand more of what Brazilian characters—and real Brazilians—are actually saying.
