Popular from Brazil
The Mechanism
(O Mecanismo)
A scandal erupts in Brazil during an investigation of alleged government corruption via oil and construction companies.
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- Brazil • 2018
- Creator Elena Soarez, José Padilha
- Cast Júlia Svacinna
- Genre Crime, Drama
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
Mars One
(Marte Um)
A middle class Black family in Brazil adjusts to life under a far-right extremist president.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Brazil • 2022
- Director Gabriel Martins
- Cast Rejane Faria, Carlos Francisco, Camilla Damião, Cícero Lucas, Ana Hilário, Russo Apr
- Genre Drama
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
Friendly Beast
(O Animal Cordial)
When a restaurant owner is the victim of an attempted armed robbery, he takes everyone hostage – the criminals, but also his staff and his customers.
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- Brazil • 2018
- Director Gabriela Amaral Almeida
- Cast Murilo Benício, Luciana Paes, Irandhir Santos, Camila Morgado, Jiddú Pinheiro, Ernani Moraes
- Genre Crime, Horror, Thriller
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, VUDU Free
Aquarius
Sometimes staying put is the greatest challenge.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Brazil, France • 2016
- Director Kleber Mendonça Filho
- Cast Sônia Braga, Maeve Jinkings, Irandhir Santos, Humberto Carrão, Fernando Teixeira, Zoraide Coleto
- Genre Drama
- Available on Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
Laerte-se
A beloved cartoonist's story behind her coming out as transgender.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Brazil • 2017
- Director Lygia Barbosa da Silva
- Cast Laerte Coutinho, Eliane Brum, Rita Lee, Glamour Garcia, Angeli
- Genre Documentary
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Good Morning, Verônica
(Bom Dia, Verônica)
A Brazilian police clerk investigates a series of abuse cases that leads her down a sinister path.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Brazil • 2020
- Creator Raphael Montes
- Cast Tainá Müller, Klara Castanho, Reynaldo Gianecchini
- Genre Crime, Drama
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
New from Brazil
Call Me by Your Name
Is it better to speak or die?
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- Italy, France, Brazil • 2017
- Director Luca Guadagnino
- Cast Timothée Chalamet, Armie Hammer, Michael Stuhlbarg, Amira Casar, Esther Garrel, Victoire Du Bois
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Netflix, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
My Penguin Friend
After a fisherman saves a penguin from an oil spill, the two form a meaningful friendship.
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- Brazil, United States • 2024
- Director David Schurmann
- Cast Jean Reno, Adriana Barraza, Nicolás Francella, Alexia Moyano, Rocío Hernández, Ravel Cabral
- Genre Adventure, Drama, Family
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, Plex, FlixFling
Criminal Code
(DNA DO CRIME)
A team of Brazil's top federal agents must work quickly to take down the country's largest gang of bank robbers.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Brazil • 2023
- Creator Heitor Dhalia, Pedro Morelli
- Cast Maeve Jinkings, Rômulo Braga, Thomás Aquino, Guilherme Faria, Pedro Caetano, Miguel Nader
- Genre Action & Adventure, Crime, Drama
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
Carandiru
Dr. Drauzio Varella listens to the stories of prisoners in the Carandiru Penitentiary.
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- Brazil, Argentina, Italy • 2003
- Director Héctor Babenco
- Cast Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos, Milton Gonçalves, Ivan de Almeida, Aílton Graça, Maria Luísa Mendonça, Aida Leiner
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store
Coffee with Cinnamon
(Café com Canela)
Five friends tell stories of love, loss, and grief.
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- Brazil • 2018
- Director Ary Rosa, Glenda Nicácio
- Cast Aline Brune, Valdineia Soriano, Babu Santana, Aldri Anunciação, Arlete Dias, Antônio Fábio
- Genre Drama
- Available on Film Movement Plus, Plex, Plex Channel
Angela
Ângela Diniz was a Brazillian socialite whose shocking murder in 1976 held the nation in its grip. This biopic tells the story of her life and tragic death.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Brazil • 2023
- Director Hugo Prata
- Cast Isis Valverde, Gabriel Braga Nunes, Alice Carvalho, Emílio Orciollo Netto, Gustavo Machado, Carolina Mânica
- Genre Crime, Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Bittersweet Rain
(Saudade fez morada aqui dentro)
A young boy living in a small Brazilian town must come to terms with his progressive blindness.
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- Brazil • 2022
- Director Haroldo Borges
- Cast
- Genre Drama
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
Vazante
A tale of slavery in early 19th century Brazil
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- Brazil, Portugal • 2017
- Director Daniela Thomas
- Cast Adriano Carvalho, Luana Nastas, Sandra Corveloni, Juliana Carneiro da Cunha, Roberto Audio
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, VUDU Free, Kanopy, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
Pictures of Ghosts
(Retratos Fantasmas)
Step into the past life of downtown Recife - where lost memories reside and forgotten stories unfold.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Brazil • 2023
- Director Kleber Mendonça Filho
- Cast Kleber Mendonça Filho, Rubens Santos, Sônia Braga, Maeve Jinkings, Lucrecia Martel, Alexandre Moura
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Criterion Channel
Telescope Recommends
Kiss of the Spider Woman
In a South American prison, a gay man imprisoned for immoral behavior and a political prisoner come to understand and respect one another.
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- Brazil, United States • 1985
- Director Hector Babenco
- Cast William Hurt, Raúl Juliá, Sônia Braga, José Lewgoy, Miriam Pires, Milton Gonçalves
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max
Elite Squad
(Tropa de Elite)
On the streets of Rio only the elite survive
- ✭ ✭
- Brazil, United States, Argentina • 2007
- Director José Padilha
- Cast Wagner Moura, Caio Junqueira, André Ramiro, Milhem Cortaz, Fernanda Machado, Maria Ribeiro
- Genre Drama, Action, Crime
- Available on Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Tubi TV, Plex, Plex Channel
Elena
Elena — who spent her childhood in Brazil fearing an authoritarian regime — moves to New York and pursues a lifelong dream shared with her mother: to be a movie actress.
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- Brazil, United States • 2013
- Director Petra Costa
- Cast Li An, Elena Andrade, Petra Costa
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Netflix, OVID, Netflix basic with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, VUDU Free, Kanopy
Araby
(Arábia)
A collection of life experiences. A road movie for Brazil's underclass.
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- Brazil • 2018
- Director João Dumans
- Cast Aristides de Sousa, Murilo Caliari, Gláucia Vandeveld, Renata Cabral, Renan Rovida
- Genre Drama
- Available on OVID, DocAlliance Films, Apple TV, Amazon Video, Kanopy, Hoopla
Invisible Life
(A Vida Invisível)
Two estranged sisters struggle to make lives for themselves despite the restrictive expectations of 1950s Brazil.
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- Brazil • 2019
- Director Karim Aïnouz
- Cast Carol Duarte, Julia Stockler, Fernanda Montenegro, Gregório Duvivier, Bárbara Santos, Flávia Gusmão
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Freevee
Mars One
(Marte Um)
A middle class Black family in Brazil adjusts to life under a far-right extremist president.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Brazil • 2022
- Director Gabriel Martins
- Cast Rejane Faria, Carlos Francisco, Camilla Damião, Cícero Lucas, Ana Hilário, Russo Apr
- Genre Drama
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
Aquarius
Sometimes staying put is the greatest challenge.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Brazil, France • 2016
- Director Kleber Mendonça Filho
- Cast Sônia Braga, Maeve Jinkings, Irandhir Santos, Humberto Carrão, Fernando Teixeira, Zoraide Coleto
- Genre Drama
- Available on Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
Zama
An officer must find a way to escape from South America in this film based on the 1956 novel.
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- Argentina, Brazil, Spain • 2017
- Director Lucrecia Martel
- Cast Daniel Giménez Cacho, Lola Dueñas, Matheus Nachtergaele, Juan Minujín, Nahuel Cano, Mariana Nunes
- Genre Drama
- Available on Metrograph, Strand Releasing Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
Too Late to Die Young
(Tarde para morir joven)
In a very dry summer in an isolated community far from the city, Sofia, Clara and Lucas face their first loves and fears.
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- Chile, Brazil, Argentina • 2019
- Director Dominga Sotomayor
- Cast Demian Hernández, Antar Machado, Magdalena Tótoro, Matías Oviedo, Andrés Aliaga
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, OVID, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Amazon Video, Kanopy, Hoopla
Documentaries from Brazil
Convergence: Courage in a Crisis
While Covid-19 exacerbates vulnerabilities worldwide, unsung heroes at all levels of society help turn the tide toward a brighter future.
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- United Kingdom, United States • 2021
- Director Orlando von Einsiedel
- Cast Wenhua Lin, Sara Khaki, Mohammad Rezi Eyni
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
August Winds
(Ventos de Agosto)
Where things change, nature remains.
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- Brazil • 2014
- Director Gabriel Mascaro
- Cast Dandara de Morais, Geová Manoel do Santos, Gabriel Mascaro, Maria Salvino dos Santos, Antônio José dos Santos
- Genre Documentary, Mystery
- Available on Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, YouTube, Kanopy
Central Airport THF
(Zentralflughafen THF)
A portrait of Berlin’s famed Tempelhof airport. Once glorified by Nazis, today it houses refugees and asylum seekers.
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- Germany, France, Brazil • 2018
- Director Karim Aïnouz
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Film Movement Plus
In the Intense Now
(No Intenso Agora)
A personal essay which analyses and compares images of the political upheavals of the 1960s.
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- Brazil • 2017
- Director João Moreira Salles
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on OVID, Apple TV
The Cleaners
Who is controlling what we see... and what we think?
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- Germany, Brazil, Netherlands • 2018
- Director Moritz Riesewick
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on The Roku Channel
The Territory
The Indigenous Uru-eu-wau-wau people fight back against deforestation and illegal settling on their land.
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- Brazil, Denmark, United States • 2022
- Director Alex Pritz
- Cast Neidinha Bandeira, Bitaté Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau, Ari Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Disney Plus
Beyond Elections: Redefining Democracy in the Americas
An exploration of the many incarnations of democracy across the Americas
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- Venezuela, Brazil, United States • 2008
- Director Michael Fox, Silvia Leindecker
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Google Play Movies, YouTube, Kanopy
Jia Zhangke, A Guy from Fenyang
(Jia Zhangke, Um Homem de Fenyang)
Acclaimed filmmaker Zia Zhangke returns to the shootings locations of his films.
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- Brazil, France • 2014
- Director Walter Salles
- Cast Jia Zhangke, Wang Hongwei, Zhao Tao, Han Sanming, Nelson Yu Lik-wai
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, YouTube, Kanopy
The Salt of the Earth
(Le sel de la terre)
A journey through the Earth's wrath and beauty with Sebastião Salgado.
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- France, Brazil, Italy • 2014
- Director Wim Wenders
- Cast Juliano Ribeiro Salgado, Wim Wenders, Hugo Barbier
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
Pictures of Ghosts
(Retratos Fantasmas)
Step into the past life of downtown Recife - where lost memories reside and forgotten stories unfold.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Brazil • 2023
- Director Kleber Mendonça Filho
- Cast Kleber Mendonça Filho, Rubens Santos, Sônia Braga, Maeve Jinkings, Lucrecia Martel, Alexandre Moura
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Criterion Channel
Waste Land
What lies at the heart of the world's largest trash city?
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- Brazil, United Kingdom • 2010
- Director Lucy Walker
- Cast Vik Muniz
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel
The Edge of Democracy
(Democracia em Vertigem)
A disturbing exploration into the complex truths behind the unraveling of two Brazilian presidencies.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Brazil • 2019
- Director Petra Costa
- Cast Dilma Rousseff, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Michel Temer, Eduardo Cunha, Jair Bolsonaro
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
Cinema Novo
A movie-essay about the most important movement of Latin American cinema.
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- Brazil • 2016
- Director Eryk Rocha
- Cast Glauber Rocha, Joaquim Pedro de Andrade, Leon Hirszman, Nelson Pereira dos Santos, Ruy Guerra
- Genre Documentary
- Available on OVID, Apple TV, Amazon Video, Hoopla
Elena
Elena — who spent her childhood in Brazil fearing an authoritarian regime — moves to New York and pursues a lifelong dream shared with her mother: to be a movie actress.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Brazil, United States • 2013
- Director Petra Costa
- Cast Li An, Elena Andrade, Petra Costa
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Netflix, OVID, Netflix basic with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, VUDU Free, Kanopy
Festival Favorites
Invisible Life
(A Vida Invisível)
Two estranged sisters struggle to make lives for themselves despite the restrictive expectations of 1950s Brazil.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Brazil • 2019
- Director Karim Aïnouz
- Cast Carol Duarte, Julia Stockler, Fernanda Montenegro, Gregório Duvivier, Bárbara Santos, Flávia Gusmão
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Freevee
The Second Mother
(Que Horas Ela Volta?)
Unspoken class barriers within a home come crashing down when the live-in housekeeper's daughter suddenly appears.
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- Brazil • 2015
- Director Anna Muylaert
- Cast Regina Casé, Camila Márdila, Karine Teles, Lourenço Mutarelli, Michel Joelsas, Helena Albergaria
- Genre Drama
- Available on OVID, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
Elena
Elena — who spent her childhood in Brazil fearing an authoritarian regime — moves to New York and pursues a lifelong dream shared with her mother: to be a movie actress.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Brazil, United States • 2013
- Director Petra Costa
- Cast Li An, Elena Andrade, Petra Costa
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Netflix, OVID, Netflix basic with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, VUDU Free, Kanopy
Bacurau
A Brazilian village is targeted by a group of armed mercenaries… who may have met their match.
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- Brazil • 2019
- Director Kleber Mendonça Filho, Juliano Dornelles
- Cast Bárbara Colen, Udo Kier, Sônia Braga, Thomas Aquino, Silvero Pereira, Wilson Rabelo
- Genre Mystery, Thriller, Western
- Available on Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy, Hoopla
Prayers for the Stolen
(Noche de fuego)
Three young girls come of age in a small and war-torn town in Mexico.
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- Mexico, Germany, Brazil • 2021
- Director Tatiana Huezo
- Cast Mayra Batalla, Norma Pablo, Olivia Lagunas, Teresa Sánchez, Guillermo Villegas
- Genre Drama
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
The Ornithologist
(O Ornitólogo)
A lone ornithologist is swept away by rapids while looking for black storks along a river, waking to an unfamiliar world.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Portugal, France, Brazil • 2016
- Director João Pedro Rodrigues
- Cast Paul Hamy, Xelo Cagiao, Jules Elting, Flora Bulcão, Isabelle Puntel, Chan Suan
- Genre Adventure, Drama
- Available on Strand Releasing Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube