Selected as Brazil’s official entry for Best International Feature at the 2025 Academy Awards, I’m Still Here is a drama from Central Station’s Oscar-nominated director, Walter Salles. Based on Marcelo Rubens Paiva’s 2015 memoir, Ainda Estou Aqui, the film follows a mother of five whose family’s life is forever changed after the disappearance of her husband, former Brazilian Labour Party congressman Rubens Paiva.
I’m Still Here had its world premiere at the 81st Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Best Screenplay award. The film was also screened at the 62nd New York Film Festival, the 68th BFI London Film Festival, the 38th AFI Fest, the 47th Mill Valley Film Festival, and the 16th Hollywood Brazilian Film Festival as its opening film.
The film stars Fernanda Torres, Selton Mello, Fernanda Montenegro, Guilherme Silveira, Antonio Saboia, Valentina Herszage, Luiza Kosovski, Marjorie Estiano, Barbara Luz, Garbiela Carneiro da Cunha, Cora Mora, and Olívia Torres.
Release Date
Directed by Walter Salles, I’m Still Here opens in select US theaters on January 17, 2025.
Synopsis
BRAZIL, 1971 – Brazil faces the tightening grip of a military dictatorship. Eunice Paiva, a mother of five children is forced to reinvent herself after her family suffers a violent and arbitrary act by the government.
The film is based on Marcelo Rubens Paiva’s biographical book and tells the true story that helped reconstruct an important part of Brazil’s hidden history.
Reviews
Jessica Kiang in a Variety review praised the film, writing, “Classical in form but radical in empathy, I’m Still Here arguably does not need the follow-up sections 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.”
Philip De Semlyen in a Time Out review gave the film a 4/5, praising lead actress Fernanda Torres’ performance, writing, “Having the fate of this well-appointed, upper-middle-class house evoke that of an increasingly oppressed Brazil might seem like a strained metaphor, but Salles’ deeply invested filmmaking is remarkable in its grace and naturalism.”
Official Trailer
Watch the official trailer for I’m Still Here.