Brazilian cinema made history on Sunday (2) at the 97th edition of the Oscars in Los Angeles. “I’m Still Here,” directed by Walter Salles, was the big winner in the international film category. An unprecedented achievement for Brazilian cinema.
The Brazilian film surpassed “Emilia Pérez” (France), “The Seed of the Sacred Fruit” (Germany), “The Girl with the Needle” (Denmark), and “Flow” (Latvia).
Walter Salles dedicated the win to Eunice Paiva, wife of former deputy Rubens Paiva, who disappeared during the dictatorship, whose search for her husband’s fate guided the film’s script. In his acceptance speech, the Brazilian filmmaker also highlighted the work of Fernanda Torres and her mother, Fernanda Montenegro.
Nominated also for the best film statuette, “I’m Still Here” lost to “Anora,” the biggest winner of the night with a total of five statuettes.
Fernanda Torres, nominated for best actress, did not take home the statuette, which ended up in the hands of Mikey Madison for “Anora.” Nevertheless, Fernanda Torres enters the history of cinema by repeating the feat of her mother, Fernanda Montenegro, who was nominated in the same category in the 1999 edition.
With its nominations, Walter Salles’ film already arrived victorious at the film industry celebration because it made history by being nominated for the Oscar in three categories, something never achieved by a Brazilian.
The winners in the 23 categories were:
• Supporting Actor: Kieran Culkin, in The True Pain
• Animation: Flow
• Animated Short Film: In The Shadow of Cypress
• Costume Design: Wicked
• Original Screenplay: Anora
• Adapted Screenplay: Conclave
• Makeup and Hairstyling: The Substance
• Editing: Anora
• Supporting Actress: Zoe Saldaña, for Emilia Pérez
• Production Design: Wicked
• Original Song: El Mal, from Emilia Pérez
• Short Documentary: The Only Woman in the Orchestra
• Documentary: No Other Land
• Sound – Dune: Part 2
• Visual Effects: Dune: Part 2
• Live-Action Short Film: I’m Not a Robot
• Cinematography: The Brutalist
• International Film: I’m Still Here
• Original Score: The Brutalist
• Actor: Adrien Brody, in The Brutalist
• Direction: Sean Baker, for Anora
• Actress: Mikey Madison, in Anora
• Film: Anora