Who is the only Brazilian to win an Oscar?
Over the years, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has grown much more open to international films and filmmakers after decades of focusing almost entirely on American and English-language movies. In 2020, Parasite made history by becoming the first non-English-language film to win the ‘Best Picture’ Oscar, and although it remains the only one at the time of this writing, plenty of others have received nominations in the category in recent years.
As the biggest country in South America and the seventh-largest country in the world by population, you might think that Brazil would have won its fair share of statuettes in multiple categories. Over the years, multiple films and filmmakers from the nation have earned nominations at the biggest awards ceremony in the business, but as of yet, only one person has walked away with the coveted little gold man.
So far, the only Brazilian film to earn a ‘Best Picture’ nomination is Walter Salles’s 2024 historical drama I’m Still Here, which was also nominated for ‘Best Actress’ for Fernanda Torres and ‘Best International Feature’. It is the fifth film from the country to be nominated for the latter category, the first being the 1962 drama Keeper of Promises.
In the more than nine decades that the Oscars have been held, the only Brazilian to have won an award is production designer Luciana Arrighi. Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1940, Arrighi moved to Australia at a young age and then to Europe, where she studied painting and design. She worked as a costume designer in Austria, Australia, and London before moving to Paris. Eventually, she transitioned into the film industry after director Ken Russell recruited her.
Arrighi’s most recognisable work is in Merchant Ivory productions like 1993’s Remains of the Day and 1992’s Howards End. She earned Oscar nominations for ‘Best Art Direction’ for both films and won for Howards End. In 2000, she earned a third nomination for her work on Anna and the King.
Who was the first Brazilian to be nominated for an Oscar?
Even though it has taken the Academy decades to begin to acknowledge international filmmaking beyond the ‘International Feature’ and ‘Documentary’ categories, Brazil’s presence at the Oscars dates all the way back to 1945, when composer Ary Barroso was nominated for ‘Best Original Song’ for ‘Rio de Janeiro’ in the movie Brazil. As you can surmise from those titles, the film was a heavily stereotyped Hollywood production starring Mexican actor Tito Guízar and American actor Virginia Bruce as love interests.
Barroso was a prolific and varied entertainer. Born in Minas Gerais in 1903, he was a composer, pianist, sports commentator, and radio and television host until his death in 1964. He wrote many of the songs that American entertainer Carmen Miranda sang and was one of the country’s most well-known songwriters outside Brazil.
Even now, you can hear his music in Hollywood films. Over the years, his work has appeared in everything from 1998’s There’s Something About Mary to 2017’s Star Wars instalment, The Last Jedi. Although his name might not be as recognised internationally as João Gilberto or Gilberto Gil, his music certainly is.
