Wagner Moura and Kleber Mendonça win awards at Cannes

Brazilians Wagner Moura and Kleber Mendonça Filho won the awards for best actor and director, respectively, at the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, in France, for their work in the film "The Secret Agent".

The 48-year-old artist followed in the footsteps of Fernanda Torres , for "Eu Sei que vou te Amar" (1986), and Sandra Corveloni, who won the award for "Linha de Passe" (2008). However, Moura became the first actor in the country to win in the male category.

"With great enthusiasm, we congratulate the actor on his victory for his electrifying performance in "The Secret Agent". In the thriller, the actor plays Marcelo, a technology expert who flees from a mysterious past," wrote the film's official profile on social media.

Mendonça, the film's director, accepted the award in place of the actor, but returned to the stage minutes later after winning the festival's best director award. It is worth noting that the production received about 15 minutes of applause after its premiere in Cannes.

This is not the first time that a feature film by the director from Pernambuco has won an award on French soil. In 2019, the Brazilian filmmaker saw the film "Bacurau", co-directed by Juliano Dornelles, win the Jury Prize.