 In 2017, Cardoso was invited to join the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in the Directors Branch.In 2018, Ava DuVernay tapped her to direct an episode of her acclaimed television series "Queen Sugar".In 2019, "Real Women Have Curves" was selected by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the National Film Registry "as a cinematic treasure and worthy of preservation as part of America’s patrimony".