Kleber Mendonça Filho's 'The Secret Agent' has garnered significant acclaim at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, securing the Critics' Prize from the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI). The film was also nominated for the prestigious Palme d'Or.
The FIPRESCI jury lauded Mendonça Filho's background as a reporter and critic, highlighting the film's novelistic generosity and its ability to evoke a time and place. The jury noted the film's exploration of a troubling story of corruption and oppression set in military-ruled Brazil in 1977.
'The Secret Agent' also received the Prix des Cinémas d'Art et Essai, an award that celebrates the film's appeal to the arthouse market. Wagner Moura won Best Actor for his role in The Secret Agent, and Kleber Mendonça Filho was recognized as Best Director. The film is set to be released in Brazilian cinemas in the second half of 2025.