Gugu’s World chosen to represent Brazil at 2027 Oscars

Gugu’s World, directed by Allan Deberton, has been chosen to compete for a Best International Feature Film nomination at the 2027 Oscars. The announcement was made Wednesday (Sep. 16) by the Brazilian Academy of Cinema and Visual Arts.

The film was chosen from among the six feature films shortlisted to represent the nation in the competition, which were unveiled on September 6. In total, 15 feature films were submitted and qualified to compete for Brazil’s spot.

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The motion picture was filmed in Quixadá, in the hinterlands of Ceará state, in Northeast Brazil. The plot follows the story of Gugu, played by Yuri Gomes, an 11-year-old boy who loves football and lives with his grandmother Dilma, portrayed by Teca Pereira.

When her health begins to fail, he tries to hide the situation so he does not have to move in with his father – played by Lázaro Ramos – in Brasília.

The film won the International Jury’s Grand Prix for Best Film in the official Generation Kplus screening and the Crystal Bear, awarded by the Youth Jury, both in Berlin, Germany. In Brazil, it was the most awarded film at this year’s Gramado Film Festival:

• Best Director;
• Best Actress for Teca Pereira;
• Best Supporting Actor for Lázaro Ramos;
• Best Film as chosen by the People’s Jury;
• Honorable Mention for Yuri Gomes, who plays the story’s protagonist.

“The excitement is immense, because among so many good films we’ve had this year – a lot of great movies, a lot of rich, valuable, and precious work – Guru’s World was selected to embark on this journey, which is a journey that, in fact, begins at home, with us valuing our own cinema,” Lázaro Ramos said on social media.

The chair of the Selection Committee, Clélia Bessa, also highlighted the film’s sensitive tone as a key factor in the selection.

“Allan Deberton’s Guru’s World has a sensitive narrative that resonates universally while also conveying a strong Brazilian identity rooted in a small town in Ceará. It’s about family, the bond between a grandmother and her grandson, childhood, and mortality, and it has already won awards at major international film festivals,” said Clélia Bessa.

Finalists

Brazil has been a finalist for Best International Feature Film at the Oscars on six occasions – most recently with the films The Secret Agent, directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho, and I'm Still Here, by Walter Salles, which ultimately brought the Oscar to Brazil for the first time.

The official shortlist for Best International Feature Film at the 2027 Oscars, featuring the 15 pre-selected non-English-language feature films, will be announced in December by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which oversees the award. The announcement of the five official nominees for the category is scheduled for January 21 of next year.