Oliver Laxe (‘Sirat’): “If Brazilians Submitted a Shoe, It Would Get an Oscar Nomination”

Brazil is on an Oscar hot streak: two straight Best Picture nominees. Last year, it was Walter Salles’ “I’m Still Here,” and this year it’s Kleber Mendonca Filho’s “The Secret Agent.” Both films also managed to get an actor nominated for lead acting (Fernanda Torres, Wagner Moura).

Brazilian fans, or “stans,” get especially passionate about the Oscars because they see any nomination or win as a major national achievement. They tend to react intensely online—celebrating nominations wildly, criticizing snubs as evidence the Academy doesn’t appreciate global cinema, and turning wins into viral national pride.

Now, I’m not saying there’s a correlation, but some have suspected that this intensity coming from Brazilians is what has led to these recent above-the-line nominations. I suspect “Sirat” director Oliver Laxe will be getting a lot of hate now from them with these comments.

Here’s what Laxe had to say:

At the Academy there's a ton of Brazilians and we love 'em a ton, but they're ultra-nationalists. I reckon if the Brazilians submitted a shoe, it’d get nominated for an Oscar.

Come on, that’s hilarious.

I don’t think Laxe realizes what he just got himself into. Get prepared for a tsunami of online insults in Portuguese. It doesn’t help that “Sirat” is competing against “The Secret Agent” in the International Feature category. Blood has been drawn. War has begun.

I wasn’t that big a fan of the second half of “I’m Still Here,” but “The Secret Agent” won two prizes at Cannes—a rarity—and went on to have a very successful run on the festival circuit. It helps that it’s a gorgeously shot, and tremendously ambient film. That said, “Sirat” is the slightly better film. Sorry, Brazil.