Ainda Estou Aqui

Director: Walter Salles

I’m Still Here

Brazil-France, 2024, 136‘

Director: Walter Salles

Cast: Fernanda Torres (young Eunice), Fernanda Montenegro (Eunice Paiva), Selton Mello (Rubens Paiva), Maeve Jinkings (Dalva Gasparian), Camila Márdila (Dalal Achcar), Marjorie Estiano (Eliana Paiva), Antonio Saboia (Marcelo Rubens Paiva)

Venice – SIGNIS Award (Walter Salles), Best Screenplay (Heitor Lorega, Murilo Hauser), Green Drop Award (Walter Salles)

 

One afternoon in 1971, Rubens Paiva, a former congressman and outspoken critic of Brazil's military dictatorship, was taken from his home in Rio de Janeiro by government officials, told that he must give a "deposition" to authorities, and disappeared. Adapted from his son Marcelo Rubens Paiva's memoir, this overwhelming, richly realized political drama from Walter Salles (The Motorcycle Diaries) stays tightly wedded to the perspective of Rubens's wife, Eunice (Fernanda Torres), whose indefatigable search for the truth about her husband would stretch out for decades.

Few films will move you like I’m Still Here will. A devastating true story, I'm Still Here is exhilarating in its portrayal of human tenacity in the face of injustice. It’s a character-driven movie about how the two great healers of any type of pain are family and time. Fernanda Torres gives one of the most magnificent performances of the year, shifting between quiet devastation and performative composure in the snap of a finger, and no moment gets lost in the shuffle because it all appears on her face. She’s uplifted by a stellar cast, with every single performance feeling authentic. Featuring a deeply affecting appearance from her mother, Brazil’s acting legend Fernanda Montenegro, Oscar nominee for Salles's Central Station.