Discover the best of Brazilian cinema, film, and television
Discover the definitive list of popular and critically-acclaimed movies and TV shows from Brazil. Find your next binge-watch, streaming on Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Prime Video, and other top services!
The cinema of Brazil
Brazilian cinema pulses with a vibrant, unstoppable energy, a film culture that moves to the rhythm of the nation itself. It is celebrated for its visual flair, raw emotion, and powerful social commentary. Its modern voice was born in the 60s with the revolutionary 'Cinema Novo' movement. Armed with the philosophy of 'an idea in the head and a camera in the hand', directors like Glauber Rocha created a raw, politically charged cinema that looked the nation’s realities right in the eye. This legacy of raw power exploded globally in the new millennium with Fernando Meirelles's masterpiece, City of God. Its kinetic energy and unforgettable story sent shockwaves through world cinema. This era also gave us the profound humanity of Walter Salles’s Central Station and the tough, gritty action of Elite Squad. On the small screen, Brazil is the undisputed king of the telenovela. These nightly dramas are a national pastime, weaving themselves into the fabric of daily life. Today, that storytelling prowess fuels a new generation of slick, addictive streaming series, from dystopian thrillers to crime dramas, that are finding fans all over the world. What makes Brazilian cinema so electrifying is this fusion of visceral style and deep social conscience. It is a cinema of vibrant colour, raw emotion, and unapologetic power, telling stories that are impossible to ignore.
Best Brazilian series
3% 2016
In a future where the elite inhabit an island paradise far from the crowded slums, you get one chance to join the 3% saved from squalor.
72
Senna 2024
Fascinated by cars since childhood, Brazilian racer Ayrton Senna became a sports legend — until tragedy struck, changing Formula 1 forever.
81
Invisible City 2021
An environmental police officer uncovers a hidden world of mythological entities from Brazilian folklore when he finds a connection between the mysterious appearance of a dead river dolphin on a Rio de Janeiro beach and the death of his beloved wife.
72
The Mechanism 2018
A scandal erupts in Brazil during an investigation of alleged government corruption via oil and construction companies. Loosely inspired by true events.
74
Good Morning, Verônica 2020
While hunting for a dating-site predator, an underused cop discovers a husband and wife with a horrific secret — and a web of conspiracy hiding it.
78
Mad Dogs 2015
When a group of underachieving 40-something friends gather in Belize to celebrate the early retirement of an old friend, a series of wild, comedic events unfold, exposing dark secrets and a web of lies, deception and murder.
72
Best Brazilian movies
City of God 2002
In the poverty-stricken favelas of Rio de Janeiro in the 1970s, two young men choose different paths. Rocket is a budding photographer who documents the increasing drug-related violence of his neighborhood, while José “Zé” Pequeno is an ambitious drug dealer diving into a dangerous life of crime.
85
Elite Squad 2007
In 1997, before the visit of the pope to Rio de Janeiro, Captain Nascimento from BOPE (Special Police Operations Battalion) is assigned to eliminate the risks of the drug dealers in a dangerous slum nearby where the pope intends to be lodged.
82
Elite Squad: The Enemy Within 2010
After a bloody invasion of the BOPE in the High-Security Penitentiary Bangu 1 in Rio de Janeiro to control a rebellion of interns, the Lieutenant-Colonel Roberto Nascimento and the second in command Captain André Matias are accused by the Human Right Aids member Diogo Fraga of execution of prisoners. Matias is transferred to the corrupted Military Police and Nascimento is exonerated from the BOPE by the Governor.
81
I'm Still Here 2024
A woman married to a former politician during the 1971 military dictatorship in Brazil is forced to reinvent herself and chart a new course for her family after a violent and arbitrary act.
84
Bacurau 2019
Bacurau, a small town in the Brazilian sertão, mourns the loss of its matriarch, Carmelita, who lived to be 94. Days later, its inhabitants notice that their community has vanished from most maps.
77
Blindness 2008
When a sudden plague of blindness devastates a city, a small group of the afflicted band together to triumphantly overcome the horrific conditions of their imposed quarantine.
68