The Film Experience

by Nathaniel R

In today's big "international feature" news, Denmark has selected EFA frontrunner Another Round for its submission but we already covered Denmark so let's move southwest to a country that also just announced. They've struggled to return to the Oscar lineup since their golden heyday, the late 1990s, when they had three nominees in a four year span. Brazil has selected Babenco: Tell Me When I Die for its Oscar submission this year. It's a documentary about the last years of Hector Babenco's life, directed by his widow Barbara Paz. Oscar voters are already familiar with Babenco, of course, since he made quite an international splash in the 1980s with films like Pixote, Ironweed, and the Oscar-nominated Kiss of the Spider-Woman. It's an interesting choice for a submission though it's not likely to be nominated given Oscar's general resistance to documentaries about film (strange that, since they love narrative features about filmmaking). Still, we're eager to see it.

The Film Experience has always enjoyed a surprisingly robust Brazilian following, so we feel affection. Let's look at films and stats and key submissions.

BRAZIL'S OSCAR STATS

Submitting since 1960
49 Total Submissions
4 Nominations (and 1 Additional Finalist)
0 Wins

<--- Special case: The classic Black Orpheus, a French/Brazilian co-production won the 1959 Oscar. But that was before Brazil was submitting and so it's officially a French winner even though it's set in Brazil and in Portugueuse...

KEY SUBMISSIONS

Keeper of Promises (1962) - first submission and first nomination for Brazil

Keeper of Promises (1962) Nominee This film is sometimes referred to as The Given Word
How Tasty was My Little Frenchman (1972) which has to be the greatest title for a movie ever, yes? Oscar passed.
Tent of Miracles (1977) Oscar passed but the submission is notable primarily because it was Brazil's choice instead of the internationally successful Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, starring Sonia Braga, which was a smash hit. It would surely have been nominated at the Oscars. Dona Flor received a Golden Globe nomination and upon its American release in 1978 became the biggest hit Brazil had ever had in the US (and that's probably still true if you adjust for inflation)
Bye Bye Brazil (1979) Arguably the best regarded (internationally) of Carlos Diegues many submissions. But Oscar passed.

Pixote (1980) A major international sucess which eventually won the NYFCC, NBR, and LAFCA prizes for Best Foreign Film as well as Best Actress prizes from Boston and the NSFC and a Golden Globe nomination upon its release in the US in 1981. But the year prior it was disqualified when submitted to for the Oscar because of test screenings held in 1979. Bizarre arbitrary ruling!
Hour of the Star (1986) First female director submitted - Brazil has only ever sent three women (including this year's candidate) -- and the leading actress won the Berlinale film festival
O Quatrilho (1995) Nominee
Four Days in September (1997) Nominee

Central Station (1998) is a true classic

Central Station (1998) Nominee which would have obviously won in a year without a behemoth like Life is Beautiful as its chief competition. It triumphed at the Golden Globes at least where Life is Beautiful was not nominated
Behind the Sun (2001) The Golden Globes nominated Walter Salles follow up to Central Station but Oscar passed.
City of God (2002) The Golden Globes nominated it but Oscar's foreign film committee snubbed it. The movie had the last laugh since the next awards season, it received three shocking Oscar nominations in other categories including Best Director and became the biggest Brazilian hit in the US of all time (though if you adjust for inflation it's possible that Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands is still the champ)
The Year My Parents Went on Vacation (2007) Finalist, so that's the most they've liked a Brazilian picture since Central Station!
Neighboring Sounds (2013) the only time Brazil has submitted the acclaimed filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho. His later film Aquarius would have been a strong competitor for an Oscar nomination but due to Brazilian political struggles it was snubbed at home.
The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmão (2019) One of the strongest films submitted last year but Oscar unwisely passed.

Most Frequently Submitted Directors for Best International Feature Film

Carlos Diegues in his youth. He's still with us at 80 years of age and still making movies.

Carlos Diegues (7 submissions, but none were nominated)
Nelson Pereira dos Santos (4 submissions)
[TIE] 3 submissions and 1 nominated film each: Walter Salles and Bruno Barreto
Fabio Barreto (2 submissions, 1 nominated film)
[TIE] 2 submissions each, none of the films nominated: Hector Babenco (the subject of this year's submission!), Luis Sergio Person, and Glauber Rocha

Most Oscar-Honored Brazilian Artists

Carlos Saldanha (2 nominations in animated category)

He's the only Brazilian that we're aware of that's been Oscar-nominated multiple times. But the most high profile single nominations were for Fernanda Montenegro (Best Actress, Central Station), Fernando Meirelles (Best Director, City of God), and Hector Babenco, who is Argentinian-Brazilian (Best Director, Kiss of the Spider-Woman). There might be a few other single nominations out there!