The Brazilian film “The Secret Agent”, directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho, has been selected for the 78th Cannes Film Festival and will now compete for the Palme d’Or. The announcement was made in Paris on Thursday (April 10).
The French festival, one of the most prestigious in the world, will take place from May 13 to 24 in Cannes, on the French coast.
This will be the world premiere of Kleber Mendonça Filho’s feature film, who is also the director of acclaimed films such as “Aquarius” (2016), which had its world premiere at Cannes in 2016, and “Bacurau” (2019). Both competed for the Palme d’Or at Cannes, the festival’s top prize.
On social media, Kleber Mendonça Filho celebrated the film’s selection to compete for the Palme d’Or.
“‘The Secret Agent’ will have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in Competition, announced now in Paris. I immediately think of the extraordinary team and the unforgettable filming last year — and the dream cast and Wagner Moura, a great actor, star, and person,” said Mendonça Filho.
The film is scheduled to premiere in Brazil in the second half of the year.
Starring Wagner Moura, the film is set in the 1970s and tells the story of Marcelo, a university professor who flees from São Paulo to Recife to escape government agents searching for him due to subversive activities. In the director’s words, the film combines mystery and suspense, with the city of Recife as the main setting.