From ‘The Secret Agent’ to ‘The Blue Trail’ to the Future: How Recife Became Brazil’s Burgeoning Film Capital

Apr 21, 2026 6:29am PT From ‘The Secret Agent’ to ‘The Blue Trail’ to the Future: How Recife Became Brazil’s Burgeoning Film Capital

Healthy public incentives, a cinema tradition and a united local film community have helped power the Brazilian Northeast capital onto the international stage

By Rafa Sales Ross

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Rafa Sales Ross

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Almost exactly a year ago, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Wagner Moura and the large cast and crew behind “The Secret Agent” turned the famed Cannes Film Festival red carpet into an impromptu carnaval parade courtesy of renowned Pernambuco frevo group Guerreiros do Passo. That homage to the rich culture of Pernambuco mirrored the four-time Oscar-nominated film’s ode to the state capital of Recife, which, thanks to Mendonça Filho and other major exponents such as Gabriel Mascaro and Marcelo Gomes, plus a talented — and hungry — new generation, has solidified itself as a hotpot of film talent in Brazil. 

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