Brazilian Cinema: a growing intercultural power

When people think of Brazil, a few familiar images often come to mind: Carnival, football, beaches, samba, and perhaps the Amazon rainforest. These cultural symbols are undeniably important, but they can also overshadow the complexity of a country with a rich and often turbulent history.

The growing international success of Brazilian cinema offers an opportunity to look beyond these clichés.

For many international audiences, one of the first Brazilian films to make a lasting impression was City of God (Cidade de Deus), released in 2002. Its powerful portrayal of life in the favelas shocked and fascinated viewers around the world. More than twenty years later, Brazilian filmmakers continue to tell stories that are deeply rooted in their own society while resonating far beyond Brazil’s borders.

Recent successes such as the Oscar-winning I’m Still Here (Ainda Estou Aqui), starring Fernanda Torres, whose performance earned her a Golden Globe and brought her international acclaim, and The Secret Agent (O Agente Secreto), featuring Wagner Moura - the first Brazilian male actor ever to win the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival for this double role - demonstrate that Brazilian cinema is entering a new period of international prominence.

Fernanda Torres and Wagner Moura, each at the Golden Globes

What makes this particularly interesting from an intercultural perspective is that both films engage with a chapter of Brazilian history that remains relatively unfamiliar to many outside Brazil: the military dictatorship that ruled the country from 1964 to 1985.

For Europeans, for example, the twentieth century is often viewed through the lens of the Second World War. Understandably so. The war profoundly shaped European societies, institutions, and collective memory. Yet our strong focus on our own historical experiences can sometimes become an intercultural blind spot. We may assume that the events that define our historical consciousness are equally central elsewhere.

Brazil’s recent cinematic success reminds us that every society carries its own historical wounds.

I’m Still Here tells the story of a family whose life is shattered by political repression during the dictatorship. At its heart, it is a story about memory, loss, resilience, and the long shadow that authoritarian rule can cast over ordinary lives. In a very authentic way, the film brings to life a chapter of Brazilian history that many international audiences may have been unaware of before.

The Secret Agent also returns to the years of military rule, exploring a society marked by surveillance, fear, and political tension. While rooted in a specific national context, its themes feel strikingly contemporary. Questions about power, truth, state control, and individual responsibility resonate far beyond Brazil.

From an intercultural perspective, this matters enormously.

Understanding another culture is not simply

about learning its food, festivals, or customs.

It also means engaging with the experiences that have shaped its collective memory. Historical events influence how societies view authority, democracy, justice, trust, and citizenship long after the events themselves have ended.

Brazil’s film industry is helping global audiences do exactly that. Rather than presenting Brazil through familiar stereotypes, these films reveal a country dealing with questions that other societies also continue to face today.

The international career of Wagner Moura illustrates this cultural exchange particularly well as he is now bringing his talent to Amsterdam audiences in A Trial – after An Enemy of the People during the June 2026 Holland Festival. A Brazilian actor performing a contemporary adaptation of a Norwegian classic about all the above themes in the Netherlands is a reminder that cultures invariably move across borders, creating new conversations and fresh perspectives.

Brazil’s current cinematic moment therefore matters. Great films do much more than just entertain. They challenge us to expand our frame of reference. They encourage us to recognize that the histories we know best are always part of a much larger human story.

And in doing so, Brazilian cinema is helping us to become more interculturally aware members of our interconnected global society.

ON EQUAL FOOTING takeaway:

"Cinema helps us find broader footing to shift our perspective and deepen our understanding of histories beyond our own."

Broader perspectives lead to firmer footing

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