Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Next Film ‘Foreign Correspondent,' Stars Wagner Moura

Any fans of Kleber Mendonça Filho? I know I'm one.

Fresh off last year's wonderful "The Secret Agent," the Brazilian filmmaker has revealed the working title of his next film, and who will star in the lead role (via Oxente Pipoca).

Speaking at a press conference for Cine Ceará, the Recife-born auteur said it's called "Foreign Correspondent," marking the first time he's publicly put a name to the project. And yes, "Secret Agent" star Wagner Moura is coming back with him. We should have known this would be the case.

Mendonça Filho said he intends to make the feature with Moura next, and that he's already deep in the research phase, with no fewer than 14 books on his reading list. That tracks. This is a former film critic and journalist whose movies are dense with history, memory and the textures of Brazilian life.

The title alone has me thinking. "Foreign Correspondent" immediately brings to mind Hitchcock's 1940 espionage thriller, and given that his last film played with genre, I wouldn't be shocked if Kleber is once again filtering Brazilian history through a cinephile's lens.

Here's what we do know, from hints Kleber has sprinkled in past interviews: "Foreign Correspondent" is a period drama set in 1930s Recife, tracking the local events that led up to World War II. He's going to dig into the 1935 communist uprising, which broke out in Recife, Natal and Rio before being crushed, and the rise of Getúlio Vargas's authoritarian Estado Novo two years later. Which brings us back to the obvious question: is this a nod to Hitchcock? His "Foreign Correspondent" followed an American reporter stumbling into a spy plot in Europe on the eve of WWII, the exact same historical moment Kleber is exploring. Don't expect a remake, though. If anything, it sounds like Kleber is taking Hitchcock's premise and asking what the run-up to the war looked like in Brazil.

For those catching up, Kleber has built quite the filmography since his breakout "Neighboring Sounds." There was the fantastic Sonia Braga-led housing dispute drama "Aquarius," the genre thrills of Cannes Jury Prize winner "Bacurau," and of course, "The Secret Agent," an incredibly complex, layered work that revealed its full power on a second viewing.

With research still underway, don't expect "Foreign Correspondent" before 2028 at the earliest. But a Kleber-Moura reunion is about as exciting a prospect as world cinema has right now. Cannes, start saving that slot.