‘I’m Still Here’ Makes Oscar History as First Brazilian Film to Win International Feature Category

Rich Polk

Walter Salles’ deeply moving drama “I’m Still Here” has won the Academy Award for best international feature, marking a historic first for Brazil.

The film, which tells the real-life story of Eunice Paiva’s decades-long search for justice after her husband’s disappearance during Brazil’s military dictatorship, has been gaining momentum in recent weeks. Its surprise nomination for best picture — alongside expected nods for international feature and best actress for star Fernanda Torres — solidified its status as a major contender.

The film beat out France’s “Emilia Perez,” Germany’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” Denmark’s “The Girl With the Needle” and Latvia’s “Flow.”

“I’m so honored to receive this, and in such an extraordinary group of filmmakers,” Salles said during his acceptance speech. “This goes to a woman who, after a loss suffered during an authoritarian regime, decided not to bend. And to resist. So, this prize goes to her. And it goes to the two extraordinary women who gave life to her, Fernanda Torres, and Fernanda Montenegro.”

Brazil has submitted films to the international feature category every year since 1960, earning five previous nominations: “Keeper of Promises” (1962), “O Quatrilho” (1995), “Four Days in September” (1997), “Central Station” (1998) and now, “I’m Still Here.” Until tonight, however, the country had never secured a win in the category.

This victory is particularly poignant for Salles, who also directed “Central Station,” the last Brazilian film to receive a nomination. That film’s lead actress, Fernanda Montenegro, made history as the first Brazilian actor to be nominated for an Academy Award. Now, her daughter, Fernanda Torres, follows in her footsteps as the second Brazilian performer nominated in the same category.

Their nominations place Montenegro and Torres among an elite group of Oscar-nominated mother-daughter duos, including Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli, Diane Ladd and Laura Dern, Janet Leigh and Jamie Lee Curtis, Goldie Hawn and Kate Hudson, and Ingrid Bergman and Isabella Rossellini — the latter of whom is also nominated this year for “Conclave.”

Heading into the ceremony, many pundits expected France’s submission, Netflix’s musical crime drama “Emilia Pérez,” to take home the prize. An “Emilia Pérez” victory would have marked France’s first win in the category in more than 30 years since “Indochine” claimed the honor in 1992.

Adding to the night’s excitement, “I’m Still Here” and “Emilia Pérez” were nominated for best picture — the first time international feature submissions and nominees made the top lineup in the same year. Only 10 previous films have achieved that feat: “Z” (1969), “The Emigrants” (1971/72), “Life Is Beautiful” (1998), “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” (2000), “Amour” (2012), “Roma” (2018), “Parasite” (2019), “Drive My Car” (2021), “All Quiet on the Western Front” (2022) and “The Zone of Interest” (2023).

Of those, “Parasite” remains the only film to win both best picture and international feature. With two international contenders in the best picture race this year, one was bound to leave Oscar night empty-handed. Ultimately, Sony Pictures Classics’ “I’m Still Here” prevailed, delivering a landmark win for Brazilian cinema and cementing Salles’ legacy as one of the country’s most celebrated filmmakers.