| I'm Still Here | |
| Native Name: | |
| Director: | Walter Salles |
| Cinematography: | Adrian Teijido |
| Editing: | Affonso Gonçalves |
| Music: | Warren Ellis |
| Distributor: | Sony Pictures Releasing (Brazil) |
| Runtime: | 135 minutes |
| Language: | Portuguese |
| Budget: | [1] |
| Gross: | US$8.1 million[2] |
I'm Still Here (pt|'''Ainda Estou Aqui''') is a 2024 political biographical drama film directed by Walter Salles from a screenplay by Murilo Hauser and Heitor Lorega, based on Marcelo Rubens Paiva's 2015 book Ainda Estou Aqui. It stars Fernanda Torres and Fernanda Montenegro as Eunice Paiva, a mother and activist searching for her missing husband, congressman Rubens Paiva, during the Brazilian Military Dictatorship.[3]
The film had its world premiere at the 81st Venice International Film Festival,[4] where it received critical acclaim, with unanimous praise towards Torres' performance,[5] and was awarded the Best Screenplay prize.[6] In September 2024, the film was selected as the Brazilian entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards.[7]
In Brazil in 1971, the lives of Eunice Paiva and her five children abruptly change after the disappearance of her husband, former Brazilian Labour Party congressman Rubens Paiva.
The screenplay was written by Murilo Hauser and Heitor Lorega, and adapted from the memoir Ainda Estou Aqui by Marcelo Rubens Paiva, Eunice's son. Hauser also co-wrote the screenplay for Karim Aïnouz's The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão (2019), based on the novel of the same name by Martha Batalha.
Principal photography began in June 2023 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[8] The film was produced by RT Features and VideoFilmes in co-production with Globoplay, Mact Productions, Conspiração Filmes and Arte France Cinéma.
In May 2024, Sony Pictures Classics acquired distribution rights to the film in North America, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Turkey, Portugal, Australia and New Zealand at the Marché du Film.
The film had its world premiere at the 81st Venice International Film Festival, receiving a standing ovation of over 10 minutes,[9] where it was nominated for the Golden Lion and won the Best Screenplay prize.[10] It was also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on 6 September 2024, at the 2024 New York Film Festival[11] and at the 2024 BFI London Film Festival[12] both in October.
Shortly after, Sony announced it had gained distribution rights in Brazil. The film was released in September in selected Brazilian cities aiming to qualify for the Best International Feature Film race at the 97th Academy Awards, and later received a wide theatrical release on 7 November 2024.[13]
The film will have its North American premiere in 17 January 2025, in New York and Los Angeles, followed by a wide release on 14 February 2025.[14]
On its opening day in Brazil, I'm Still Here brought 50,320 people to the cinemas, grossing R$1.1 million.[15] In its first weekend, even though it was the target of a frustrated boycott by the Brazilian far-right,[16] the film debuted in first place at the box office with 358,000 admissions, earning R$8.6 million, overcoming third week (R$6.6 million) and Red One first weekend (R$5.3 million).[17]
I'm Still Here received overwhelming praise upon release by the public, film critics and the Brazilian and international press; praise was mainly directed to Fernanda Torres' performance.[18]
Jessica Kiang of Variety praised the film and its dramatic charge: "Classical in form but radical in empathy, I'm Still Here arguably does not need the follow-up sections—one set in 1996 and the other in 2014—that somewhat alter the emotional rhythm. But on the other hand, these characters are so vivid that we don't want to leave them either".[19] For Wendy Ide of Screen Daily, Salles "never over-labours the film's emotional beats, relying instead on Torres' magnificent, intricately layered performance to drive the picture"; she also praised Montenegro, "who has a brief but exceptionally powerful cameo here as the elderly Eunice".[20]
Several international outlets applauded Fernanda Torres' work, with Collider considering it one of the best performances of the year, being "more than deserving of an Oscar nomination".[21] In her review for Deadline, Stephanie Bunbury describes the film as a "celebration of Brazil", and praises Torres, stating that the actress "has an emotional delicacy as Eunice that conveys, through the smallest and subtlest signals, what it costs her to hold back her anxiety and anger for the sake of her family. It is a performance that should catapult her into the awards race, 25 years after her mother Fernanda Montenegro was Oscar-nominated for Salles' breakthrough feature, Central Station".[22] David Rooney in The Hollywood Reporter highlighted the relationship between Montenegro and Torres, saying "What makes the connection even more poignant is that she appears as the elderly, infirm version of the protagonist", and recognized I'm Still Here as "a gripping, profoundly touching film with a deep well of pathos. It's one of Salles' best".[23] For IndieWire, Leila Latif says Torres' performance "is as spectacular as her filmography would suggest, having marked herself out as one of the South American continent's greatest actors in roles in Foreign Land (also directed by Salles) and won a Palme d'Or for Best Actress in Love Me Forever of Never. Her Eunice possesses phenomenal strength and stoicism which make each moment of pain that peep through the chinks of her armor all the more moving", and praised her on-screen interaction with Selton Mello.[24]
| Award | Ceremony date | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venice International Film Festival | 7 September 2024 | Golden Lion | [25] | ||
| Best Screenplay | Murilo Hauser and Heitor Lorega | ||||
| Green Drop Award | Walter Salles | [26] | |||
| SIGNIS Award | [27] | ||||
| Celebration of Latino Cinema & Television | 22 October 2024 | Actress Award – International Film | [28] | ||
| Vancouver International Film Festival | 11 October 2024 | Gala & Special Presentations Audience Award | I'm Still Here | [29] | |
| Mill Valley Film Festival | 16 October 2024 | Audience Favorite World Cinema | [30] | ||
| Pingyao International Film Festival | 18 October 2024 | Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon East-West Award | [31] | ||
| São Paulo International Film Festival | 30 October 2024 | Audience Award – Best Brazilian Fiction | I'm Still Here | [32] | |
| Miami Film Festival | 7 November 2024 | Audience Award | [33] | ||
| Astra Film Awards | 8 December 2024 | Best International Feature | [34] | ||
| Festival du film d’histoire de Pessac | 25 November 2024 | Prix Danielle Le Roy du Jury Étudiant | [35] | ||
| Prix du Public | |||||
| Premio Arcanjo de Cultura | 2 December 2024 | Cinema | [36] |