The True Story Behind I’m Still Here, the Oscar Contender Pushing Brazil to Confront Its Dark Past

As Marcelo Paiva, the renowned Brazilian author, embarked on writing his 2015 memoir titled I’m Still Here, he aimed to chronicle his family history, particularly focusing on his mother, Eunice Paiva, who was gradually losing her memory at the age of eighty. Eunice had been battling Alzheimer’s for over a decade, which led to her forgetting her past as a significant human rights lawyer and activist in Brazil. Throughout her life, her work was primarily dedicated to indigenous rights, but her pursuit of justice was deeply personal: her ex-husband and Marcelo’s father, Rubens Paiva, an engineer and former congressman, was arrested by military police and disappeared on January 20, 1971. It wasn’t until many years later that it was revealed that Rubens was brutally tortured and murdered by Brazil’s military dictatorship, which held power from 1964 to 1985. Regrettably, his body was never recovered.

Via a personal perspective, Marcelo Paiva’s tale took on deeper significance in terms of Brazil’s troubled history that is often kept hidden. Initially, the family story resonated strongly within Brazil, even reaching the top of domestic best-sellers lists. Now, however, it has gained international attention with the widely praised film titled “I’m Still Here“. This movie, which was adapted from Marcelo’s book by his close friend Walter Salles – a renowned Brazilian director known for works such as “City of God“, “The Motorcycle Diaries“, and “On the Road” – premiered to great acclaim at the Venice International Film Festival, winning Best Screenplay. In the United States, it will be released on January 17th.

As a devoted cinema enthusiast, I’m thrilled to share that Salles’ long-awaited return to Brazilian and feature filmmaking after a decade, the poignant drama “I’m Still Here“, has been making waves in this year’s award season. On January 5th, it clinched one of the two Golden Globe nominations it received, winning Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama for its remarkable star, Fernanda Torres. This victory marked a historic moment as she outshone stars like Nicole Kidman, Angelina Jolie, and Kate Winslet, becoming the first Brazilian actress to claim this prestigious award, 25 years after her mother, Fernanda Montenegro, was nominated in the same category for another Salles film, “Central Station“. The movie is hotly tipped to be nominated for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards. With this triumph, Torres finds herself in an enviable position to secure a Best Actress nomination as well.

The True Story Behind I’m Still Here, the Oscar Contender Pushing Brazil to Confront Its Dark Past

The movie shows the harmonious lifestyle of the Paiva family near Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro during the late ’60s and early ’70s, all while military forces suppress leftist rebellions in the backdrop. However, their peaceful existence is shattered when Rubens (the family patriarch) is detained by the military in 1971. Following this, Eunice (Torres) and one of her daughters are taken into custody for questioning. After they are released, Eunice embarks on a prolonged quest for answers regarding Rubens’ fate. The story later moves to 1996, when she eventually receives his death certificate, and then to 2014, where at the age of 85, Eunice can barely recall her past.

Over the past month, the cinematic masterpiece “I’m Still Here” has captivated over 3 million viewers across Brazilian theaters, raking in an impressive $11 million domestically. This triumph has secured it a spot as director Salles’ most successful film after his three-decade career. As the buzz around this movie escalates, many Brazilians are delving deeper into their nation’s tumultuous past, finding striking parallels with the current far-right political climate.

Remarkably, the timely release of both the book and film coincided with significant events in Brazil related to the true story of the Paivas, infusing a sense of urgency and underscoring the reality that life often imitates art.

A film about Brazil’s past—and present

The True Story Behind I’m Still Here, the Oscar Contender Pushing Brazil to Confront Its Dark Past

While Marcelo Paiva was penning his book, Brazil’s National Truth Commission (Comissão Nacional da Verdade) was initiated under former president Dilma Roussef—a person who had endured imprisonment and torture during military rule herself. This commission was established to scrutinize atrocities against humanity that took place during the dictatorship. The findings from this report, published in 2014, confirmed Rubens Paiva as one of the 434 victims (either killed or disappeared) by the military regime, with tens of thousands more suffering torture.

Paiva shared with TIME that he discovered his mother was experiencing memory loss, which strangely mirrored the national conversation in Brazil about its own memory. He found it quite peculiar and thought-provoking to explore this duality.

Last fall, the movie premiered in Brazil around early November, but just a few weeks later, a bombshell police report shook up Brazilian politics. The report disclosed a plot by military allies of the far-right Brazilian politician Jair Bolsonaro, who served as president before that and is known for his right-wing views, to stage a coup against President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. This alleged coup attempt was planned after Bolsonaro lost the 2022 election. The military allies involved in this plot had ties to the dictatorship and had never faced accountability.

The plan for this attempted coup was astounding, as it included a chilling proposal to assassinate Lula, his Vice President-elect Geraldo Alckmin, and even a Supreme Court Justice.

Initially, I believed our work would provide a mirror to the past to help us grasp our current situation, Walter Salles stated to TIME. However, as the political climate in Brazil shifted and the far-right gained significant influence that we hadn’t foreseen, it became apparent that our film was not just about the past but also about the present moment.

As a movie buff reflecting on the subject, I’d say, “I concur – it felt like we were teetering on the brink of actions inspired by admirers of ’70s dictatorship. The challenge wasn’t just in Brazil, but globally – people seemed to believe that the dictatorship wasn’t so terrible, that torture was a myth, and the real issue was democracy. For me, the news of this attempted coup was a chilling reflection of what the Paiva family had endured.

The team working on the film found the mirror-effect significant because Bolsonaro strongly advocates for Brazil’s military dictatorship, referring to the 1964 coup as “Liberty Day.” Many of his supporters share this affinity towards that era, with approximately 58 million Brazilians casting their votes for him in the 2018 elections (representing over 55% of the total votes). Although he lost to Lula in the 2022 elections, Bolsonaro’s backers orchestrated a large-scale anti-democratic demonstration at the Brazilian congress in 2023, which bore striking similarities to the Capitol insurrection by Trump supporters in 2021.

Honoring the legacy of a widow turned national hero

The True Story Behind I’m Still Here, the Oscar Contender Pushing Brazil to Confront Its Dark Past

2023 marked the start of I’m Still Here‘s production, and yet the political climate permeated through the room. However, as Salles expressed, this became a catalyst for motivation: “We all grasped the importance of what we were creating while filming it. This realization fueled our focus, enabling us to produce the same movie – an essential aspect in cinema.

Torres referenced the idea of a “cordial man,” a term coined by Brazilian sociologist Sérgio Buarque de Holanda, as a fundamental approach to grasping Brazilian identity and the manner in which Brazilians typically address significant problems.

Brazilians are known for their warm and welcoming nature, open-mindedness, and familiarity. However, when it comes to addressing our national or political issues, we often prefer a more discreet approach, keeping matters private and resolving them behind closed doors, as if sweeping them under the rug.

Despite efforts from some on the Brazilian far-right to shun the movie, it unexpectedly became a nationwide sensation. Torres was taken aback because she believed a film about Rubens Paiva, a symbol of military crimes, would be criticized by more than just those on the extreme right. “The impact and emotion this [Paiva] family evoked reached everyone – from the far-left to the center-right, so we faced no attacks.

As a movie enthusiast, I’d like to share my thoughts on why “The Paixões” has resonated so deeply with audiences. Brazilian historian Luiz Felipe de Alencastro, who experienced the dictatorship firsthand in Brasilia and crossed paths with Rubens and Eunice Paiva during his youth, believes that a significant part of its appeal lies in its portrayal of a prosperous family in Rio de Janeiro during the 1970s. Furthermore, he suggests that the film’s timeliness, as it mirrors current events, has played a crucial role in capturing our hearts and minds.

He told TIME that previously, films about military dictatorships were “aggressive portrayals of urban guerrilla warfare, featuring militants willing to fight and die.” Now, we see a content family from Brazil’s high society, who are not engaged in subversive activities, unexpectedly experiencing a catastrophe similar to a bolt of lightning hitting their home. This event coincides with the revelation that there was a plot to assassinate Lula by individuals connected to Bolsonaro.

The historian noted that the film has resonated deeply with young Brazilians, leading to YouTube and TikTok videos where descendants of former political prisoners share photos and recount their family histories – a phenomenon unprecedented for older generations of Brazilians. Offline, this impact is also evident: In São Paulo, the grave of Eunice Paiva, who passed away in 2018 at 89, has become a pilgrimage spot for admirers of this woman who championed Brazil’s democracy.

Marcelo Paiva, renowned Brazilian author, expresses that his mother, Eunice, defied the conventional image of a widow and transformed into a hero. She metamorphosed her identity, creating a new persona as a human rights lawyer. The family resided in a spacious house in Leblon, Rio de Janeiro, when Rubens was alive, but were compelled to relocate following his forced disappearance. It wasn’t until 1996, 25 years later, that Rubens’ death was officially declared, preventing Eunice from accessing his bank accounts or selling his possessions to sustain the family. The entire production team admired Eunice’s resilience deeply. Torres aimed to produce a movie that would make Eunice proud.

The thin line between dictatorship and democracy

The True Story Behind I’m Still Here, the Oscar Contender Pushing Brazil to Confront Its Dark Past

As a movie enthusiast reminiscing about “I’m Still Here,” I find it profoundly divided between the radiant innocence I witnessed in Rio and the lingering sorrow that followed Rubens’ mysterious disappearance. Growing up, Walter Salles shared a bond with the Paiva children, often spending carefree days in their sun-drenched beach house during the late ’60s. The atmosphere there was vibrant, with open doors and windows, spirited political discourse, and an ever-present soundtrack of music that echoed through the air. This home embodied a dream for another nation, one that contrasted starkly with the Brazil I knew under military rule and censorship, where the military’s presence was omnipresent in our daily lives.

Looking back over several years, while Brazil has undergone substantial transformation and reverted to its democratic foundations, many continue to perceive Salles’ “vision of another nation” as elusive due to persistent political similarities between past and present. As Marcelo Paiva puts it, “the boundary between a dictatorship and a democracy in Brazil and the U.S. is very fine.” Fortunately, we have managed to withstand such systems, but for how long remains uncertain. However, this film serves as a powerful reminder to our population about the importance of staying vigilant and taking responsibility for shaping our collective future.

Could a movie contribute significantly to a nation facing its troubled history? It’s unlikely it would do so comprehensively, but director Salles argues that art, particularly cinema, can contribute to the ongoing discourse about such issues. As he put it, “Brazilian cinema and art in general possess a vitality that arises from our desire to reflect our own identity, and this film is part of a broader narrative. It’s not a solitary effort.

2025-01-08 00:07