97 years of the Academy Awards and records are still made to be broken. This year, history was made when Walter Salles’ “I’m Still Here” won the International Feature Film Academy Award. After five previous nominations, the harrowing true story has become Brazil’s first winner in the category. At one point known as Foreign Language Film, the South American powerhouse only began submitting to this category in 1960.
READ MORE: Fernanda Torres Reflects On Brazil’s “Wave Of Emotion” For “I’m Still Here”
Released by Sony Pictures Classics in the United States, “I’m Still Here” is the first Brazillian film to be nominated for Best Picture and Best Actress (Fernanda Torres). Torres is just the second Brazillian woman to be nominated for Best Actress after her mother, Fernanda Montenegro, earned a nomination in 1999 for “Central Station.” That movie was directed by, you guessed it, Salles.
“I’m Still Here” follows Eunice Paiva (Torres) as she attempts to raise her children while investigating the kidnapping and likely murder of her husband, Rubens Paiva (Selton Mello), during the military dictatorship that was in power from 1964 to 1985.
The film debuted at the 2024 Venice International Film Festival in September, where it won Best Screenplay (Murilo Hauser and Heitor Lorega) as well as the Green Drop and SIGNIS Awards. It also reportedly was among a stalemate of three films the jury deliberated over for the Golden Lion. Over the ensuing months, it was named one of the top 5 International Films of the Year by the National Board of Review, won Best Ibero-American Film at the Goya Awards, and earned BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Critics Choice Awards nominations for Best Foreign Language Film. Torres also won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama.
At a reported production budget of just $1.48 million U.S., it has earned over $28.7 million worldwide to date.
“I’m Still Here” is still playing in theaters.