Toronto: Brazilian Pic ‘I’m Still Here’ Pops at Fest, Could Strongly Contend for International Feature Oscar

With the possible exception of the animated feature The Wild Robot, no film that has had its world premiere or North American premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival has been more warmly received than I’m Still Here, Walter Salles’ deeply moving portrait of one family’s experience under the military dictatorship that ruled Brazil from 1964 through 1985.

After being unveiled last week at the Venice Film Festival, where the jury awarded it the best screenplay prize, the film debuted in Toronto at the TIFF Lightbox on Monday afternoon, where — in the presence of Salles and stars Fernanda Torres and Selton Mello — it was greeted with an enthusiastic minute-long standing ovation. (Unlike Cannes and Venice, Toronto is not a fest where standing ovations of any length are a given).

I’m Still Here was adapted from Marcelo Rubens Paiva’s 2015 book Ainda Estou Aqui by Murilo Hauser and Heitor Lorega, and centers on the Paiva family, with whom Salles himself grew up. Torres, in a restrained but powerful turn, plays the matriarch of a clan with five kids, both before and after their gregarious patriarch, former Brazilian Labour Party congressman Rubens Paiva, suddenly disappears.

The “disappeared” — perceived enemies of the state who are taken from their families — have been the focus of other strong films that made a dent come awards season, particularly two focused on Argentina: best international feature Oscar winner The Official Story (1985) and nominee Argentina, 1985 (2022).

I’m Still Here does a comparably powerful job of addressing their story, and, with the enthusiastic backing of U.S. distributor Sony Classics, stands a very strong shot at landing a nom for the best international feature Oscar (alongside another TIFF ’24 fan favorite, France’s likely entry Emilia Pérez).

The last time that Brazil landed a best international feature Oscar nom was 26 years ago, for Salles’ breakthrough film, Central Station, and the film’s star, Fernanda Montenegro, also landed a best actress nom. Torres, who is Montenegro’s daughter, could certainly follow in her footsteps. (Montenegro, now 94, plays the older version of Torres in a cameo in I’m Still Here.) And Hauser and Lorega’s script should not be counted out of the best adapted screenplay contest, either.