Can You Score 20/20? The Ultimate Brazil Entertainment Expert Trivia Quiz

Answers Below – No Peeking!

Test your knowledge of Brazilian cinema, music, TV, and pop culture icons with this expert-level quiz! From classic films like City of God to telenovela sensations and bossa nova legends, these 20 questions range from easy warm-ups to hardcore challenges. Grab a pen and see if you can ace it!

20 Trivia Questions on Brazil Entertainment

Question 1: In which year was the acclaimed Brazilian film City of God (Cidade de Deus) released?

A. 2000
B. 2002
C. 2004
D. 1999

Question 2: Who directed the 2002 film City of God?

A. Walter Salles
B. José Padilha
C. Fernando Meirelles
D. Héctor Babenco

Question 3: Which Brazilian actress earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her role in Central Station (Central do Brasil, 1998)?

A. Alice Braga
B. Sonia Braga
C. Fernanda Montenegro
D. Regina Casé

Question 4: What event serves as the backdrop for the 1959 Cannes Palme d’Or winner Black Orpheus (Orfeu Negro)?

A. FIFA World Cup
B. Rio Carnival
C. São Paulo Pride
D. New Year’s Eve

Question 5: Who composed the iconic bossa nova song "The Girl from Ipanema" ("Garota de Ipanema")?

A. João Gilberto
B. Astrud Gilberto
C. Antonio Carlos Jobim
D. Caetano Veloso

Question 6: What is the name of the tough cop character played by Wagner Moura in Elite Squad (Tropa de Elite, 2007)?

A. Tenente Silva
B. Capitão Nascimento
C. Major Oliveira
D. Coronel Andrade

Question 7: Which real-life Rio de Janeiro favela inspired the setting of City of God?

A. Rocinha
B. Cidade de Deus
C. Complexo do Alemão
D. Vidigal

Question 8: Who directed the 1980 Brazilian drama Pixote, a seminal film about street children?

A. Fernando Meirelles
B. Walter Salles
C. José Padilha
D. Héctor Babenco

Question 9: In which year did Elite Squad (Tropa de Elite) become Brazil’s highest-grossing film at the time?

A. 2005
B. 2007
C. 2010
D. 2002

Question 10: Which Brazilian actor starred in Hollywood films like 300 and Love Actually?

A. Wagner Moura
B. Rodrigo Santoro
C. Selton Mello
D. Ricardo Darín

Question 11: What is the primary language of Brazilian films and telenovelas?

A. Spanish
B. English
C. Portuguese
D. Italian

Question 12: Which massively popular 2012 telenovela featured a revenge plot in a favela and starred Débora Falabella?

A. Avenida Brasil
B. Terra Nostra
C. O Clone
D. Laços de Sangue

Question 13: Who directed Central Station (Central do Brasil), which was nominated for two Oscars?

A. Fernando Meirelles
B. Kátia Lund
C. Walter Salles
D. Anna Muylaert

Question 14: Which city is renowned as the birthplace of samba and hosts the world’s largest Carnival parade?

A. São Paulo
B. Salvador
C. Rio de Janeiro
D. Recife

Question 15: What was the original title of the 2015 film The Second Mother (Que Horas Ela Volta?), which won awards at Sundance?

A. Que Horas Ela Chega?
B. Que Horas Ela Volta?
C. Que Horas Ela Sai?
D. Que Horas Ela Fica?

Question 16: Which Brazilian director helmed the documentary Bus 174 (Ônibus 174), later adapting it into Elite Squad?

A. Fernando Meirelles
B. Walter Salles
C. José Padilha
D. Karim Aïnouz

Question 17: Who is known as the "Queen of Pop" in modern Brazilian music, famous for hits like "Bang"?

A. Ivete Sangalo
B. Claudia Leitte
C. Anitta
D. Sandy

Question 18: Which 2005 film, Lower City (Cidade Baixa), starred Wagner Moura, Lázaro Ramos, and Alice Braga?

A. Directed by Sérgio Machado
B. Directed by Walter Salles
C. Directed by Héctor Babenco
D. Directed by José Padilha

Question 19: In what year did Brazil host the FIFA World Cup, inspiring films like Não Pare na Pista?

A. 2002
B. 2010
C. 2014
D. 2018

Question 20: Which Brazilian-French director helmed the 2019 Oscar-nominated Invisible Life (A Vida Invisível)?

A. Karim Aïnouz
B. Anna Muylaert
C. Fernando Meirelles
D. Walter Salles

Answers

  1. B. 2002 – City of God premiered at Cannes in 2002 and was released theatrically that year; the others are nearby but incorrect years for this film.
  2. C. Fernando Meirelles – Meirelles co-directed with Kátia Lund; Salles did Central Station, Padilha Elite Squad, Babenco Pixote.
  3. C. Fernanda Montenegro – She was nominated for Best Actress in 1999 Oscars; the others are prominent but not for this role/film.
  4. B. Rio Carnival – The film retells the Orpheus myth during Carnival; not sports or other events.
  5. C. Antonio Carlos Jobim – Jobim wrote it with Vinicius de Moraes; Gilberts performed it famously.
  6. B. Capitão Nascimento – Moura reprised the role in the 2010 sequel; others are fictional inventions.
  7. B. Cidade de Deus – The film is based on real events in this Rio favela; others are different favelas.
  8. D. Héctor Babenco – Argentine-Brazilian Babenco directed the 1981 classic; others did later films.
  9. B. 2007 – Released in 2007, it broke box office records until the sequel; 2010 was the sequel.
  10. B. Rodrigo Santoro – Santoro has a major Hollywood career; Darín is Argentine.
  11. C. Portuguese – Brazilian Portuguese is standard; Spanish is neighbour countries.
  12. A. Avenida Brasil – It was a 2012 Globo hit with record ratings; others are earlier/different.
  13. C. Walter Salles – Nominated for Best Foreign Film and Actress; others unrelated.
  14. C. Rio de Janeiro – Rio’s Sambadrome hosts the iconic parade; Salvador has strong Carnival too.
  15. B. Que Horas Ela Volta? – Directed by Anna Muylaert, it screened at Sundance 2015.
  16. C. José Padilha – The 2002 doc led to his fiction features; others different genres.
  17. C. Anitta – She rose in the 2010s with global hits; others are established singers.
  18. A. Directed by Sérgio Machado – The Bahia-set drama featured the trio; others mismatched.
  19. C. 2014 – Brazil hosted amid protests, influencing media; others different hosts.
  20. A. Karim Aïnouz – Nominated for Best International Feature 2020; others different films.

How did you do? Share your score in the comments and challenge your friends to beat it – true Brazil entertainment experts only!