Eunice Paiva died in 2018 after living with Alzheimer’s for 15 years. A folk hero, her tomb has reportedly become a pilgrimage site, and on January 8, President da Silva established a Defense of Democracy award in her name.
How has I’m Still Here been received?
After premiering at the Venice Film Festival on the 60th anniversary of Brazil’s 1964 military coup, I’m Still Here has become a cultural flashpoint in Brazil. Brazilian historian Luiz Felipe de Alencastro, who was also imprisoned during the dictatorship and knew the Pavias, told TIME the film is igniting conversation on YouTube and TikTok: “Daughters of former political prisoners [are] making videos showing photos and telling their family stories,” he says.
Salles, the director, has called public reaction to the movie a “kind of cultural, sociological political phenomenon.” Speaking to Deadline, he said: “People are staying in the film until the very end of the credits and they’re writing [on] social media what the experience was in the screening room that they were at… we couldn’t anticipate that. And it made me think now that literature, cinema, music, can be incredible instruments against oblivion.”
Politically, the movie has held special meaning, too. At an event commemorating the January 2023 assault on Brazil’s Capitol, President da Silva nodded to the film, saying: “We are still here.” And in December, Brazil Supreme Court Justice Flávio Dino cited the movie while arguing that a 1979 law granting amnesty to individuals, including military officials, accused of political crimes during the dictatorship shouldn’t apply to the crime of concealing bodies. “The disappearance of Rubens Paiva, whose body was never found or buried, highlights the enduring pain of thousands of families,” Dino said.
Once it reaches the U.S., where President-elect Trump “joked” about only acting as a dictator on “day one” of his presidency, I’m Still Here is expected to strike a chord. Eunice’s son Marcelo told The Guardian: “I think people are afraid, now even more so with Trump. The world has become something we [thought we] had already left behind.”
Who is in the cast of I’m Still Here?
Brazilian actress Fernanda Torres plays Eunice Paiva, to memorable effect. This month, she took home the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama Film for the role, logging Brazil’s first win in the category. And Torres’ mother, acclaimed Brazilian actress Fernanda Montenegro, appears in I’m Still Here as an older Eunice Paiva.
Also in the film is Selton Mello as Rubens Paiva; Marjorie Estiano as Eliana; and Antonio Saboia as Marcelo.
Does I’m Still Here have a trailer?
Yes, it does. Watch it here:
