On Sunday evening (Jan. 4), Brazil’s The Secret Agent won the award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2026 Critics’ Choice Awards. The flick was up against Left-Handed Girl, It Was Just an Accident, Belén, Sirāt, and No Other Choice.

Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho and starring Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent has been highly praised by Brazilian and international critics and was extremely well received at festivals over the last few months.

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• “The Secret Agent” and Wagner Moura nominated for Golden Globes.

The production also competed in the Best Actor category with Wagner Moura, but actor Timothée Chalamet won with Marty Supreme. Competing with Moura in this category were actors Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon), and Michael B. Jordan (Sinners).

Golden Globes and Oscars

The Critics Choice Awards are considered a bellwether for the Oscars, to take place on March 15. In addition to the award for Best Foreign Language Film, The Secret Agent may compete for Best Casting.

In December, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the preliminary list of nominees in 12 categories for the 98th Oscars. The final list of Oscar nominees will be revealed on January 22.

The next challenge for Kleber Mendonça Filho’s feature is the 2026 Golden Globes, next Sunday (11). The movie is nominated in the categories of Best Foreign Language Film and Best Drama Film. Wagner Moura is nominated for Best Actor.

Last year, actress Fernanda Torres won the Golden Globe for Best Actress for her performance in I’m Still Here.

*Paula Laboissière contributed to this article.