Walter Salles’ I’m Still Here has been making waves both in his home country of Brazil, where it’s been a massive box office hit, and across the world, where it’s already been shortlisted for the Oscars’ International Feature category. The film’s star, Fernanda Torres, even won a Golden Globe for her performance a few weeks back, besting the likes of mega-stars Angelina Jolie and Nicole Kidman, and we’ll know on Thursday, January 23, whether she’ll get an Oscar nomination.
The film takes place in 1971, documenting a different epoch in Brazilian history when the country was run by a military dictatorship. When former congressman and family man Rubens Paiva (Selton Mello) is taken by a group of men, his wife Eunice (Fernanda Torres) is left with the job of trying to find him for months, then years and decades. Salles’ film deals with a little known part of Brazilian history, while showing the bravery of Eunice and her family to try to find out what truly happened with the family patriarch.
Although Torres’ performance has received a lot of attention, Selton Mello is an equally renowned Brazilian actor and filmmaker, even if his role in the film is mainly relegated to the first half hour, much of which shows his large family enjoying life despite the oppression.
Cinema Daily US had a chance to speak with Ms. Torres and with Mello in separate interviews, which you can watch above and below.
I’m Still Here is now playing in New York and L.A., and it will continue to expand to more cities over the next few weeks until its wide release on February 14.
You can also watch an interview with Salles himself, talking about how the movie came about, right here.
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Director: Walter Salles
Screenwriter: Murilo Hauser, Heitor Lorega
Cast: Fernanda Torres, Selton Mello, Fernanda Montenegro, Valentina Herszage, Maria Manoella, Bárbara Luz, Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha, Luiza Kosovski, Marjorie Estiano, Guilherme Silveira, Antonio Saboia, Cora Mora, Olívia Torres
Producer: Maria Carlota Bruno, Martine de Clermont-Tonnerre, Rodrigo Teixeira
Production Co: VideoFilmes, RT Features, MACT Productions, Arte France Cinéma
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Rating: PG-13 (Thematic Content|Some Strong Language|Drug Use|Smoking|Brief Nudity)
Genre: Drama
Language: Portugese
Release Date (Theaters): January 17, 2025 (New York, LA)
Runtime: 2 hours, 16 minute
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You can watch the trailer below: