The Secret Agent () is a 2025 neo-noir historical political thriller film written and directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho. It star Wagner Moura as Armando, a former professor caught in the political turmoil in the midst of the Brazilian military dictatorship, attempting to flee persecution and resist an authoritarian regime.
The film premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival on 18 May 2025, where it won Best Director for Mendonça Filho and Best Actor award for Moura. It was released in Brazil and Germany on 6 November 2025, and in France on 17 December 2025. The film received acclaim from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 98% based on 219 reviews. Metacritic calculated a weighted average score of 91/100 based on 40 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".
The Secret Agent has received several awards and nominations from critical and industry groups. It received four nominations at the 98th Academy Awards, including Best Picture. At the 83rd Golden Globe Awards, the film was nominated for Best Motion Picture – Drama, while winning the awards for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama for Moura. It also was nominated for Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Not in the English Language at the 79th British Academy Film Awards.
Accolades Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result ABC (Brazilian Society of Cinematographers) Award for Cinematography 16 May 2026 Best Art Direction Thales Junqueira Best Sound Ciryl Holtz, Moabe Filho, Pedrinho Moreira and Tijn Hazen AARP Movies for Grownups Awards 10 January 2026 Best Foreign-Language Film The Secret Agent ABRA Screenwriting Award 26 May 2026 Best Original Screenplay Kleber Mendonça Filho Academy Awards 15 March 2026 Best Picture Emilie Lesclaux Best Actor Wagner Moura Best Casting Gabriel Domingues Best International Feature Film The Secret Agent Alliance of Women Film Journalists 31 December 2025 Best Film Best Actor Wagner Moura Best International Feature The Secret Agent The Astra Awards 9 January 2026 Best Actor – Drama Wagner Moura Best International Feature The Secret Agent Acting Achievement Award Wagner Moura Atlanta Film Critics Circle 3 December 2025 Top 10 Films The Secret Agent Austin Film Critics Association 18 December 2025 Best Film Best International Film Best Actor Wagner Moura Best Original Screenplay Kleber Mendonça Filho Biarritz International Festival of Latin American Cinema 18 September 2025Abrazo d'honneur Black Film Critics Circle 20 December 2025Top Ten Films of 2025 The Secret Agent Boston Online Film Critics Association 19 December 2025 Best Film Best Actor Wagner Moura Brazil Online Film Award 7 March 2026 Best Film The Secret Agent Best Director Kleber Mendonça Filho Best Actor Wagner Moura Best Screenplay Kleber Mendonça Filho Best Ensemble Gabriel Domingues Best Cinematography Evgenia Alexandrova Best Editing Eduardo Serrano e Matheus Farias Best Production Design Thales Junqueira Best Costume Design Rita Azevedo Best Brazilian Film The Secret Agent British Academy Film Awards 22 February 2026 Best Original Screenplay Kleber Mendonça Filho Best Film Not in the English Language Kleber Mendonça Filho and Emilie Lesclaux Cannes Film Festival 24 May 2025 Palme d'Or Kleber Mendonça Filho FIPRESCI Prize Prix des Cinémas Art et Essai Best Director Best Actor Wagner Moura César Awards 26 February 2026 Best Foreign Film The Secret Agent Chicago Film Critics Association 11 December 2025 Best Actor Wagner Moura Best Foreign Language Film The Secret Agent Chicago International Film Festival 24 October 2025Gold Hugo Sources:
Best Actor Wagner Moura Columbus Film Critics Association 8 January 2026 Best Lead Performance Sources:
Best Foreign Language Film The Secret Agent Critics Choice Awards Celebration of Latino Cinema & Television 24 October 2025Director Award Kleber Mendonça Filho Critics' Choice Movie Awards 4 January 2026 Best Actor Wagner Moura Best Foreign Language Film The Secret Agent Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association 17 December 2025 Best Foreign Language Film Dorian Awards 3 March 2026 Non-English Language Film of the Year Edda Awards TBA International Film of the Year Film Festival Cologne 6 October 2025The Hollywood Reporter Award for Best of Cinema Fiction Kleber Mendonça Filho Film Independent Spirit Awards 15 February 2026 Best International Feature Film The Secret Agent Florida Film Critics Circle 19 December 2025 Best Actor Wagner Moura Best Ensemble The Secret Agent Best Production Design Thales Junqueira Best Foreign Language Film The Secret Agent Gáldar International Film Festival 27 October 2025 Best Feature Film Gold Derby Film Awards25 February 2026 Best Picture Best Actor Wagner Moura Best Original Screenplay Kleber Mendonça Filho Best International Feature FilmThe Secret Agent Golden Globe Awards 11 January 2026 Best Motion Picture – Drama Best Foreign Language Film Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama Wagner Moura Gotham Independent Film Awards 1 December 2025 Best Original Screenplay Kleber Mendonça Filho Outstanding Lead Performance Wagner Moura Grande Otelo Awards 4 August 2026 Best Film The Secret Agent Best Director Kleber Mendonça Filho Best Actress Tânia Maria Best Actor Wagner Moura Best Supporting Actress Alice Carvalho Hermila Guedes Best Supporting Actor Carlos Francisco Gabriel Leone Robério Diogenes Best Original Screenplay Kleber Mendonça Filho Best Cinematography Evgenia Alexandrova Best Art Direction Thales Junqueira Best Costume Design Rita Azevedo Best Make-Up Marisa Amenta Best Editing (Fiction) Eduardo Serrano, Matheus Farias Best Visual Effects Alexandre Boiron, Luuk Meijer, David Van Heeswijk Best Sound Pedro Moreira, Moabe Filho, Tijn Hazen, Cyril Holtz Best Original Score Tomas Alves Souza, Mateus Alves Hamburg International Film Festival 8 October 2025Hamburg Producers Award The Secret Agent Arthouse Cinema Award Havana Film Festival 12 December 2025 Best Film Best Director Kleber Mendonça Filho Best Screenplay Best Production Design Thales Junqueira Best Editing Eduardo Serrano and Matheus Farias Best Original ScoreTomaz Alves Souza and Mateus Alves Hawaii Film Critics Society 12 January 2026 Best Actor Wagner Moura Best Foreign Language Film The Secret Agent Houston Film Critics Society 20 January 2026 Best Picture Best Actor Wagner Moura Best Foreign Language Feature The Secret Agent IndieWire Critics Poll 15 December 2025 Best Film Best Director Kleber Mendonça Filho Best Performance Wagner Moura Best Screenplay Kleber Mendonça Filho Best CinematographyEvgenia Alexandrova Best International Film The Secret Agent IndieWire Honors 4 December 2025 Performance Award Wagner Moura International Cinephile Society 8 February 2026 Best Picture The Secret Agent Best Director Kleber Mendonça Filho Best Actor Wagner Moura Best Supporting Actress Tânia Maria Best Original Screenplay Kleber Mendonça Filho Best Ensemble The Secret Agent Best Cinematography Evgenia Alexandrova Best Editing Matheus Farias and Eduardo Serrano Best Production Design Thales Junqueira Best Sound Design Tijn Hazen International Federation of Film Critics 21 September 2025 Grand Prix for Best Film of the Year The Secret Agent Jerusalem Film Festival 25 July 2025 Best International Film Latin Grammy Awards 12 November 2026 Best Music for Visual Media Tomas Alves Souza and Mateus Alves Latino Entertainment Journalists Association 9 February 2026 Best Picture The Secret Agent Best Director Kleber Mendonça Filho Best Actor Wagner Moura Best Supporting Actress Tânia Maria Best Original Screenplay Kleber Mendonça Filho Best Ensemble Casting Gabriel Domingues Best Cinematography Evgenia Alexandrova Best Editing Matheus Farias and Eduardo Serrano } Best Production Design Thales Junqueira Best Costume Design Rita Azevedo Best Non-English Language The Secret Agent Lima Film Festival 16 September 2025 Trophy Spondylus International Critics' Jury Award for Best Film Latin American Fiction Competition - Honorable Mention Lisbon & Estoril Film Festival 15 November 2025 Tribute Award Wagner Moura London Film Critics' Circle 1 February 2026 Foreign Language Film of the Year The Secret Agent Actor of the Year Wagner Moura Los Angeles Film Critics Association 7 December 2025 Best Picture The Secret Agent Best Lead Performance Wagner Moura Best Foreign Language Film The Secret Agent Lumière Awards 18 January 2026 Best International Co-Production Sources:
Macondo Awards 25 October 2026 Best Ibero-American Film – FIACINE Middleburg Film Festival 19 October 2025International Spotlight Award Kleber Mendonça Filho Miskolc International Film Festival 13 September 2025 Emeric Pressburger Award The Secret Agent Sources:
Music City Film Critics' Association 12 January 2026 Best International Film NAACP Image Awards 28 February 2026 Outstanding International Motion Picture National Board of Review 3 December 2025 Top Five International Films National Society of Film Critics 3 January 2026 Best Picture Best Actor Wagner Moura Best Screenplay Kleber Mendonça Filho Best Film Not in the English Languange The Secret Agent New Jersey Film Critics Circle 31 December 2025 Best Picture Best International Feature New York Film Critics Circle 2 December 2025 Best Foreign Language Film Best Actor Wagner Moura New York Film Critics Online 15 December 2025 Best Actor Best International Feature The Secret Agent New York Film Festival 8 January 2026 Golden Beast Trophy Sources: Newport Beach Film Festival 6 November 2025Outstanding Performance Wagner Moura Online Association of Female Film Critics 19 December 2025 Best Male Lead Best International Feature The Secret Agent Pandora International Film Critics Awards 21 December 2025 Best Actor Wagner Moura Puerto Rico Critics Association 2 January 2026 Best Picture The Secret Agent Best Actor Wagner Moura Best Original Screenplay Kleber Mendonça Filho Best International Feature The Secret Agent Best Film Editing Eduardo Serrano and Matheus Farias Online Film Critics Society 26 January 2026 Best Picture The Secret Agent Best Actor Wagner Moura Best Film Not in the English Language The Secret Agent Online Film & Television Association 15 February 2026 Best Picture Best Actor Wagner Moura Best Foreign Language Film The Secret Agent Palm Springs International Film Festival 12 January 2026 Best International Feature Film Sources:
Paris Film Critics Awards 8 February 2026 Best Picture Sources: Best Director Kleber Mendonça Filho Best Actor Wagner Moura Pingyao International Film Festival 29 September 2025 Gala-Best Film (People Choice Award) The Secret Agent Platino Awards 9 May 2026 Best Ibero-American Film Best Director Kleber Mendonça Filho Best Actor Wagner Moura Best Screenplay Kleber Mendonça Filho Best Film Editing Eduardo Serrano and Matheus Farias Best Original Score Tomas Alves Souza and Mateus Alves Best Art Direction Thales Junqueira Best Costume Design Rita Azevedo San Diego Film Critics Society 15 December 2025 Best Actor Wagner Moura Best Foreign Language Film The Secret Agent San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle 14 December 2025 Best Actor Wagner Moura Best International Feature Film The Secret Agent San Sebastián International Film Festival 24 September 2025City of Donostia (San Sebastian Audience Award) Sources:
Santa Barbara International Film Festival 8 February 2026 Virtuoso Award Wagner Moura São Paulo Art Critics Association (APCA) 27 January 2026 Best Picture The Secret Agent Sources:
Best Director Kleber Mendonça Filho Best Screenplay Best Actor Wagner Moura Best Actress Alice Carvalho Special Jury Prize Tânia Maria Satellite Awards 10 March 2026 Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama Wagner Moura Best Motion Picture – International The Secret Agent Seattle Film Critics Society Awards 15 December 2025 Best International Feature Sources: