Dave McNary / Variety
Brazil has selected Anna Muylaert’s “The Second Mother” as its entry in the foreign-language film Academy Awards category.
The Brazilian film won a special jury award for acting in the world cinema competition at Sundance for its two stars, Regina Case and Camila Mardila. “The Second Mother” also nabbed the Panorama audience award at the Berlin Film Festival.
Oscilloscope bought U.S. rights to the pic during the latter festival. The film was produced by Fabiano Gullane, Caio Gullane, Debora Ivanov and Anna Muylaert.
“The Second Mother” — titled “Que Horas Ela Volta?” in Portuguese — centers around a hard-working live-in housekeeper, played by Case, in Sao Paulo. When her estranged daughter (Mardila) suddenly appears, the unspoken class barriers that exist within the home are thrown into disarray.
“This is the sort of savvy, socially conscious crowdpleaser that occupies a rare middle ground between genteel and intellectual world cinema,” Variety’s Geoff Berkshire wrote in his review.
The film has grossed over $100,000 at 15 U.S. theaters since its launch on August 28.
The deadline to submit entries for foreign-language film is Oct. 1. The nominations will be announced Jan. 16 and the Oscars will take place Feb. 28 at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
The Brazilian Ministry of Culture made the announcement on its Twitter account.