Neon has acquired the North American rights to the political thriller The Secret Agent from writer and director Kleber Mendonça Filho. The Portuguese language pic — about a technology expert returning to his hometown in 1977 to reunite with his young son and flee the country — premiered in competition in Cannes on Sunday, May 18. Neon is planning a North American theatrical release later this year. The Secret Agent stars Wagner Moura, Maria Fernanda Cândido, Gabriel Leon, Carlos Francisco, Alice Carvalho and Hermila Guedes. Set in Recife, Brazil in 1977, the thriller follows Marcelo (Moura), a technology expert, as he is on the run from contract killers and federal officials. He arrives in Recife during carnival week, hoping to reunite with his son, only to find the city is unlikely to offer the refuge he seeks. The Secret Agent is the Brazilian filmmaker’s third film to premiere In competition at Cannes, after Aquarius in 2016 and Bacurau, which he co-wrote and co-directed with Juliano Dornelles and won the Prix du Jury, in 2019. In 2017, Filho served as the jury president of the Critics’ Week section at Cannes and his second documentary Pictures of Ghosts premiered in the Special Screenings section at the 2023 festival. The Secret Agent has Moura returning to Portuguese-language cinema after several years away. The film is produced by Emilie Lesclaux, Nathanaël Karmitz, Elisha Karmitz, Fionnuala Jamison, Olivier Barbier, Leontine Petit, Erik Glijnis, Fred Burke and Sol Bondy. It is a Cinemasópio, MK Productions, Lemming Film and One Two Films presentation. MK2 Films is handling international sales for the film. The distribution deal was negotiated by Neon’s Sarah Colvin and Jeff Deutchman, with MK2 Films’ Fionnuala Jamison working for the filmmakers.