This week begins 49th São Paulo International Film Festivalwhich takes place between October 16th and 30th in various rooms in the capital of São Paulo. In total, there are 350 films on the selected list, with emphasis on titles that have been to international festivals, such as Cannes and Berlin.
The Secret Agentchosen to compete for a place in the Best International Film category at the Oscar 2026also enters the selection. The program also includes restored classics, children's screenings and meetings between directors and the public. Below, check out the unmissable films:
Directed by Oliver Hermanusthe drama narrates the meeting between Lionel (Paul Mescal) and David (Josh O’Connor), who build a relationship based on their love for music. After some time apart, the two reunite for a journey of rescue: a trip through the Maine countryside to collect traditional songs that begin to disappear, driven by time and oblivion.
This journey becomes transformative for Lionel, who realizes that music is not just a soundtrack to happy moments, but also a mirror of identity, memory, loss and reconnection.
From the director Yorgos lanthimosthis sci-fi thriller starts with a crazy premise: a pair of conspiracist men believe that a powerful CEO of a biotechnology company is actually an alien sent to destroy Earth.
They are convinced by conspiracy theories linked to falling bee populations, distrust of science and a narrative of ecological despair. Michelle (Emma Stone) tries to resist psychological abuse as the environment becomes increasingly exaggerated.
The story of Ari Aster is set in May 2020 in a pandemic environment and revolves around Sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix), a man marked by moral rigidity and unable to give in to the chaos increased by the outbreak, and Mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal), who tries to keep the city together with diplomacy while facing political pressure, a whole network of misinformation, local factions and collective fears.
The escalation of tension occurs as quarantine regulations, polarized discourses and the appeal to fear transform personal relationships into zones of ideological conflict. The film tells how in times of crisis the danger may not only lie in the pandemic, but in the way it amplifies existing fissures in the political and social structure.
Adapted from the novel by Valter Hugo Motherthe film follows Chrysostom (Rodrigo Santoro), a 40-year-old man who lives with the anguish of not having had children. He goes through a process of reconnection with his own loneliness and identity when he decides to adopt Camilo, an orphan boy, and raise a family with him that defies traditional social expectations.
In his search, he opens up to emotional relationships, trying to build bonds of love and companionship in the midst of a world full of absences.
Set in Recife in 1977, the film Kleber Mendonça Filho brings Marcelo (Wagner Moura), a technology expert in his forties, who returns to his hometown fleeing a mysterious past. He hopes to find peace, but discovers a city under tension: the country lives under a military dictatorship that surveils, persecutes and controls under cover. The film is also an international co-production and was chosen to represent Brazil at the 2026 Oscars.
The Brazilian drama directed by Fellipe Barbosa follows Ana (Benedita Casé), a successful lawyer who suffers a car accident with her son and faces progressive hearing loss, which can progress to profound deafness.
Faced with this new reality and a society marked by ableism, she needs to reinvent herself: leave part of her previous life and rediscover her identity.
The biopic tells the story of the cartoonist Mauricio de Sousa from his childhood, showing his first drawings, his relationship with his family and the challenges he faced to transform his talent into a profession, until the moment he launches his most iconic work, the Monica's Gang.
The film also shows the creative behind-the-scenes, inspirations and decisive moments in the artist's career, showing his commitment to making accessible and popular comics, often facing doubts and market obstacles to make his artistic dream come true.
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