Don Brook
Appearances
Global News Podcast
US air crash: 64 feared dead
The film I'm Still Here is set in Brazil in the 1970s, when the country was living under a military dictatorship.
Global News Podcast
US air crash: 64 feared dead
At the centre of this story, based on relevance, is Onisi Paiva, played by Fernanda Torres, whose seemingly joyous family life is changed forever when her husband Rubens, a former leftist congressman, disappears after he is apprehended by the military.
Global News Podcast
US air crash: 64 feared dead
In Brazil, the film has been a big box office success and it's brought the country its first ever Oscar Best Picture nomination for a film in Portuguese. As well as nominations for Best International Feature... and for Fernanda Torres for Best Actress. It's a big shot in the arm for Brazilian cinema.
Global News Podcast
US air crash: 64 feared dead
One reason why the film is eliciting such passion in Brazil is because it's touching on the years of military dictatorship, when many democratic rights were suspended. Rodrigo Brandão is a Brazilian filmmaker.
Global News Podcast
US air crash: 64 feared dead
The film was launched at the Venice Film Festival last year, where top Brazilian filmmaker Walter Salles explained how he was moved to tell the story of Onisi Paiva's response to her husband's forced, violent disappearance.
Global News Podcast
US air crash: 64 feared dead
That woman is Onisi Paiva, played by Fernanda Torres, who's now a strong Oscar contender. But the actor's chances of winning may have been weakened because a comedy sketch from 20 years ago, in which she appeared in Blackface, recently resurfaced. She has apologised, stating that when she performed the sketch, the racist history of Blackface hadn't yet entered mainstream consciousness in Brazil.
Global News Podcast
US air crash: 64 feared dead
Torres maintains that in I'm Still Here, she tried to stay truthful to her character who prevailed in the wake of her husband's disappearance to emerge as an activist for the rights of indigenous people.
Global News Podcast
US air crash: 64 feared dead
The film is shining a light on a dark chapter in Brazilian history where hundreds went missing under a right-wing dictatorship. Although it wasn't his plan, director Walter Salas claims his film has relevance to other countries where far-right groups have gained ground.
Global News Podcast
US air crash: 64 feared dead
Quite apart from its political themes, the film is important to Brazilians for sentimental reasons. The film's leading lady, Fernanda Torres, appears in a picture which also features a performance from Fernanda Montenegro, her 95-year-old mother. 25 years ago, she was nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars but lost to Gwyneth Paltrow.
Global News Podcast
US air crash: 64 feared dead
So now the country is rooting for her daughter to make history and finally bring home the Oscars gold to Brazil. Don Brook reporting.