List of Academy Awards nominations for Brazilian films
The following is a list of the Academy Award nominations for Brazilian films. To this date, the only winner is Orfeu Negro (1959). The film, however, was submitted by the French government and thus France was credited as the award recipient. Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), a Brazilian-American co-production, and City of God (2002) are the films that earned most nominations in a single year, with four each. Fernanda Montenegro holds the title as the only Brazilian nominated to an acting category for her role in Central do Brasil. She was also the first Latin American nominated to the Academy Award for Best Actress, paving the way to Salma Hayek and Catalina Sandino Moreno. As of 2009, a Brazilian production is not nominated for the Academy Awards since 2002. Although the documentary Waste Land that takes place in Brazil was nominated in 2011 and the song Real in Rio composed by two Brazilian authors was nominated in 2012.
Nominations
| Year | Film | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945 | Rio de Janeiro | Best Original Song | Ary Barroso | Nominated |
| 1959 | Orfeu Negro (Black Orpheus) |
Best Foreign Language Film | France | Won |
| 1962 | O Pagador de Promessas (Keeper of Promises, The Given Word, The Promise) |
Brazil | Nominated | |
| 1985 | O Beijo da Mulher Aranha (Kiss of the Spider Woman) |
Best Picture | David Weisman (American) | Nominated |
| Best Director | Hector Babenco (Argentine-born Brazilian) | Nominated | ||
| Best Actor in a Leading Role | William Hurt (American) | Won | ||
| Best Adapted Screenplay | Leonard Schrader (American) | Nominated | ||
| 1995 | O Quatrilho | Best Foreign Language Film | Brazil | Nominated |
| 1998 | O Que é Isso, Companheiro? (Four Days in September) |
Brazil | Nominated | |
| 1999 | Central do Brasil (Central Station) |
Brazil | Nominated | |
| Best Actress in a Leading Role | Fernanda Montenegro | Nominated | ||
| 2001 | Uma História de Futebol (A Soccer Story) |
Best Live Action Short Film | Paulo Machline | Nominated |
| 2002 | Cidade de Deus (City of God) |
Best Director | Fernando Meirelles | Nominated |
| Best Adapted Screenplay | Bráulio Mantovani | Nominated | ||
| Best Editing | Daniel Rezende | Nominated | ||
| Best Cinematography | César Charlone | Nominated | ||
| 2010 | Waste Land | Best Documentary - Feature | Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley | Nominated |
| 2011 | "Real in Rio" from the film Rio | Best Original Song | Sérgio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown | Nominated |
| 2015 | The Salt of the Earth | Best Documentary – Feature | Lélia Wanick Salgado | Nominated |
| 2016 | Boy & the World | Best Animated Feature | Alê Abreu | Nominated |