From the Favela to the Croisette: Brazilian Cinema's Cannes Moment

There is a lot of storytelling in Brazil. From the unsentimental social realism of Cinema Novo to the international triumph of City of God, Brazilian cinema has long been a showcase of the country’s manifold beauty, paradoxes, and people. The tradition was observed at the 79th Cannes Film Festival. But outside of the usual credit lines, Brazilian directors and producers made their mark on the Croisette through international co-productions in Un Certain Regard or the exhibition of works-in-progress at the Marché du Film. With a Jury Prize and two other remarkable films in postproduction, Cannes 2026 sent a strong signal: Brazilian cinema is not coming; it has already come.

ELEPHANTS IN THE FOG (Un Certain Regard — Jury Prize Winner) Dir. Abinash Bikram Shah | Nepal/Germany/Brazil/France/Norway

The film centers on the Kinnar community—Nepal's ancient third-gender group—offering a rare, intimate portrayal of resilience, love, and cultural invisibility in the face of societal hostility. Shah's rhythmic claps become an emphatic assertion of identity, resilience, rebellion, and empowerment in a film where the supernatural and the deeply human coexist. Extravagant in scope, mighty in execution, and astonishing in its conclusion, the film is the kind of debut that announces a filmmaker fully formed—and the jury agreed, awarding it the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize. São Paulo's Enquadramento Produções co-produced, giving Brazil a meaningful creative stake in one of the festival's most celebrated films.

BEYOND THE EDGE (Works in Progress — Goes to Cannes) Dir. Jô Serfaty | Brazil/France

A coastal drama in which a former summer resident returns to a hamlet now sinking under the sea, sparking memories and desires in a fisherwoman and her young granddaughter. Serfaty's move into fiction after a decorated documentary debut signals a quiet confidence—environmental grief and personal longing braided together. Still in post-production, it's one to track on the festival circuit later this year.

CAROLINA MARIA DE JESUS (Works in Progress — Goes to Cannes) Dir. Jeferson De | Brazil/France

A biographical portrait of one of Brazil's most vital literary voices—the Black favela writer whose diary Quarto de Despejo stunned the country in 1960. Bringing De Jesus to international audiences through a French co-production is a bold and culturally significant move and a reminder that Brazil's greatest untold stories are still waiting for the screen. One to watch.

Taken together, these films reflect what Festival do Rio executive director Ilda Santiago called a Brazilian cinema that is "more adventurous"—driven by growing confidence in how the country's films are perceived globally and a Jury Prize to back it up.