How The Secret Agent Became Brazil’s Reluctant Political Rorschach Test
Brazil’s period drama *The Secret Agent* has emerged as a surprise Oscar contender, leading the domestic box office among Best Picture nominees. The film’s success coincides with Brazil’s October presidential election, where incumbent Lula seeks a historic fourth term against right‑wing challengers, including Flávio Bolsonaro. Director Kleber Mendonça Filho notes the movie’s themes echo today’s political climate, while the government’s renewed support for the audiovisual sector contrasts sharply with Bolsonaro’s previous cuts. The cultural buzz around the film underscores Brazil’s evolving democratic narrative.
For Once, the Oscars Are Unpredictable
The Oscar race has become unusually fluid, with the usual frontrunners reduced to maybes as final voting approaches. Michael B. Jordan’s surprise best‑actor win for *Sinners* at the SAG Awards rattled the field, while Sean Penn’s supporting win and Amy Madigan’s horror‑genre...
The Sommelier’s Amulet: Nick Corirossi and Armen Weitzman on The Napa Boys
Comedians Nick Corirossi and Armen Weitzman have written, co‑directed and starred in “The Napa Boys,” a self‑referential comedy that imagines a fourth installment of a fictional wine‑centric franchise. The film debuted in TIFF’s Midnight Madness program, screened in IMAX, and...
“I Wanted the Film to Have the Vignetted Existence of a Fable”: Sarmad Sultan Khoosat on His Genre-Bending Berlinale Premiere...
Pakistani director Sarmad Sultan Khoosat’s supernatural horror‑musical Lali debuted in Berlin’s Panorama, marking Pakistan’s first all‑local film at the Berlinale. Inspired by a family short story, the film fuses horror, black comedy, folk songs and a vivid red‑purple palette to explore...