‘It’s exactly what the country needs’: How Brazil propelled drama I’m Still Here to be this year’s Oscars dark horse

Brazil celebrated the unexpected success of Walter Salles’ I’m Still Here as the Oscar nominations were revealed. Fernanda Torres received nominations for best actress, best international film, and most unexpectedly, best picture. “I’m so proud! Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the president of the nation, wrote on X, “Kissings to Fernanda Torres and Walter Salles.” The film, which depicts the real-life experience of a family living during Brazil’s two-decade military dictatorship that ended in 1985, is elegant and emotionally stirring. Former congressman Rubens Paiva (Selton Mello) was abducted by military police in 1971 and never returned, leaving his wife Eunice (Torres) to build a future for herself and her five children.