"I'm Still Here" / "Aun Estoy Aqui" / "Ainda Estou Aqui"

World premiere: 1.09.2024, 81st Venice IFF (won Best Screenplay award)

Fernanda Torres won Best Actress at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards

This film won Best International Feature Film at the 92th Academy Awards

I’m Still Here is a 2024 political biographical drama film directed by Walter Salles from a screenplay by Murilo Hauser and Heitor Lorega.

Plot:

In December 1970, Rubens Paiva lives in an idyllic house near Leblon beach with his wife Eunice and their five children. Returning to his civil career after the revocation of his tenure at the outset of the 1964 Brazilian coup d’etat, Paiva continues to support political expatriates without telling his family.

After revolutionary movements kidnap the Swiss ambassador to Brazil, the country faces looming political instability. The Paivas' friends Fernando and Dalva Gasparian seek refuge in London, taking the Paivas' eldest daughter, Vera, with them. Vera had previously witnessed military violence while returning from the cinema with her friends. The military raids Paiva's house, resulting in his arrest and disappearance in January 1971. Eunice's public inquiries about him result in her arrest and torture for 12 days. Eliana, their teenage daughter, is also imprisoned, but released after 24 hours. Eunice is questioned about whether her husband is involved with "terrorist" (pro-democracy) movements, which she denies.

Newspapers falsely report that Rubens fled the country into exile, but Eunice and her friends suspect otherwise. With the help of lawyer Lino Machado, she files a habeas corpus petition. She also learns from family friend Bocaiuva Cunha that Rubens had been secretly helping political exiles. A former teacher, Martha, confirms she was imprisoned with Rubens but is afraid to speak out publicly. She later writes a letter detailing her arrest and his. Félix, a journalist and family friend, informs Eunice that Rubens was killed, but the military authorities refuse to confirm it officially. Left to care for her children alone, Eunice sells their home and moves to Sao Paulo, anticipating a new start close to her parents.

25 years later, in 1996, while receiving from the Brazilian state - now once again a democracy—Rubens Paiva's official death certificate, surrounded by journalists, Eunice calls for reparations for victims' families and accountability for the military dictatorship's crimes. In 2014, during a family gathering surrounded by her children and grandchildren, the 85-year-old Eunice has advanced Alzheimer’s disease. When a news report about the National Truth Commission addresses Rubens's case, Eunice appears to recognize him.

An epilogue reveals that five men were identified as responsible for the murder of Paiva, who was killed at the DOI-CODI headquarters between January 21 and 22, 1971, but none was prosecuted. The epilogue also notes that Eunice graduated from law school at 48 and became one of the few experts on indigenous rights in Brazil, serving as a counselor for the federal government, the World Bank, and the United Nations. She died in 2018 at the age of 89.

Cast:

Fernanda Torres as Eunice Paiva

Fernanda Montenegro as Eunice Paiva (older)

Selton Mello as Rubens Paiva

Production companies: Video Filmes, RT Features, MACT Productions, Arte France Cinema, Conspiracao, Gioboplay

Countries: Brazil, France

Lanuage: Portuguese

Box office: US $ 36.1 million