Film 2361 - Ainda Estou Aqui

Intro: I feel very ashamed I didn't write a single review in weeks. This only happened one other time back when I first started this blog in 2009 when, during the Summer, I couldn't force myself to write anything on here. Then something happened, I missed it, and I went back to it. Same situation here, now, but different circumstances. Life has been really hectic lately, a lot of new changes, work has been crazy for a while, events are piling up (The Second Annual Babes Awards are happening this Saturday and I'm very excited), holidays to plan, friends to see and catch up with... For a while I couldn't find the right moment (or the inspiration) to come back to this space an start writing. Sometimes it happens and yeah, it's all right.

Film 2361: "Ainda Estou Aqui" (2024), Walter Salles
Watched on: At the movies
Language: Portuguese
Watched with: Niamh, Debbi, Elias
Thoughts: One of the best movies I've seen last year.
Not only "Ainda Estou Aqui" is powerful on its own, but also what impacted me even more was watching this film with my Brazilian friends, as it gave me a broader understanding of what the story is about and how these real life events shaped their country and affected the people who lived through such terryfing times.
On top of that, Fernanda Torres delivers one of the best performances from last year - my second favourite, to be precise - and God she tour-de-forces you through so many emotions with just one expression or a side eye, her physicality is impeccable and she gives everything she has to her character, to the point that Eunice is almost like your friend, you root for her and her family and you suffer with her, you worries for her and her husband. Torres's performance is so powerful it's impossible to take your eyes off of her.
So yeah, "I'm Still Here" is great movie that tells a powerful story, it's wonderfully written and acted and stays with you even once the show is over. It's a tough one, but definitely worth watching.
Cast: Fernanda Torres, Selton Mello, Valentina Herszage, Humberto Carrão, Fernanda Montenegro.
Box Office: $36.1 million
Worth a watch?: It's a tough watch, I won't lie, but Fernanda Torres' performance is so magical and worth watching that it makes this film unmissable. But get ready, because "Ainda Estou Aqui" holds no punches.
Awards: Nominated for 3 Oscars for Best Picture and Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (Torres), it won for Best International Feature Film (the first win for Brazil in this category). 1 BAFTA nomination for Best Film Not in the English Language and 2 Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, it won the latter. In competition at the 2024 Venice International Film Festival, it won for Best Screenplay.
Key word: Dictatorship.
Trailer
#HollywoodCiak
Bengi

Oscars 2025: Nominees & Winners

The 97th Academy Awards ceremony, will take place on March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. Comedian and podcaster Conan O'Brien is set to host the show for the first time. 

97th Academy Awards

Best Picture
“Anora,” (Neon) Alex Coco, Samantha Quan and Sean Baker, Producers
“The Brutalist” (A24)
“A Complete Unknown” (Searchlight) Fred Berger, James Mangold and Alex Heineman, Producers
“Conclave” (Focus Features) Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell and Michael A. Jackman, Producers
“Dune: Part Two” (Warner Bros.) Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Tanya Lapointe and Denis Villeneuve, Producers
“Emilia Pérez” (Netflix)
“I’m Still Here” (Sony Pictures Classic)
“Nickel Boys” (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios)
“The Substance” (MUBI)
“Wicked” (Universal) Marc Platt, Producer

Best Director
Sean Baker, “Anora”
Brady Corbet “The Brutalist”
James Mangold, “A Complete Unknown”
Jacques Audiard, “Emilia Pérez”
Coralie Fargeat, “The Substance”

Best Actress
Cynthia Erivo, “Wicked”
Karla Sofía Gascón, “Emilia Pérez”
Mikey Madison, “Anora”
Demi Moore, “The Substance”
Fernanda Torres, “I’m Still Here”

Best Actor
Adrien Brody, “The Brutalist”
Timothée Chalamet, “A Complete Unknown”
Colman Domingo, “Sing Sing”
Ralph Fiennes, “Conclave”
Sebastian Stan, “The Apprentice”

Best Supporting Actress
Monica Barbaro, “A Complete Unknown”
Ariana Grande, “Wicked”
Felicity Jones, “The Brutalist”
Isabella Rossellini, “Conclave”
Zoe Saldaña, “Emilia Pérez”

Best Supporting Actor
Yura Borisov, “Anora”
Kieran Culkin, “A Real Pain”
Edward Norton, “A Complete Unknown”
Guy Pearce, “The Brutalist”
Jeremy Strong, “The Apprentice”

Best International Feature Film
“I’m Still Here,” Brazil 
“The Girl with the Needle,” Denmark 
“Emilia Pérez,” France  
“The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” Germany  
“Flow,” Latvia

Best Animated Feature
“Flow” (Sideshow/Janus Films)
“Inside Out 2” (Walt Disney) Kelsey Mann and Mark Nielsen
“Memoir of a Snail” (IFC Films) Adam Elliot and Liz Kearney
“Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl” (Netflix)
“The Wild Robot” (Universal) Chris Sanders and Jeff Hermann

Best Adapted Screenplay
“A Complete Unknown”, Screenplay by James Mangold and Jay Cocks
“Conclave,” Screenplay by Peter Straughan
“Emilia Pérez,” Screenplay by Jacques Audiard in collaboration with Thomas Bidegain, Léa Mysius and Nicolas Livecchi
“Nickel Boys,” Screenplay by RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes
“Sing Sing,” Screenplay by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Story by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, John “Divine G” Whitfield

Best Original Screenplay
“Anora,” Written by Sean Baker
“The Brutalist,” Written by Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold
“A Real Pain,” Written by Jesse Eisenberg
“September 5,” Written by Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum, Co-Written by Alex David
“The Substance,” Written by Coralie Fargeat

Best Documentary Feature Film 
“Black Box Diaries” (MTV Documentary Films) Shiori Ito, Eric Nyari and Hanna Aqvilin
“No Other Land,” Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal and Yuval Abraham
“Porcelain War” (Picturehouse) Brendan Bellomo, Slava Leontyev, Aniela Sidorska and Paula DuPre’ Pesmen
“Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat” (Kino Lorber) Johan Grimonprez, Daan Milius and Rémi Grellety
“Sugarcane” (National Geographic Documentary Films)

Best Costume Design
“A Complete Unknown,” Arianne Phillips
“Conclave,” Lisy Christl
“Gladiator II,” Janty Yates and Dave Crossman
“Nosferatu,” Linda Muir
“Wicked,” Paul Tazewell

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
“A Different Man,” Mike Marino, David Presto and Crystal Jurado
“Emilia Pérez,” Julia Floch Carbonel, Emmanuel Janvier and Jean-Christophe Spadaccini
“Nosferatu,” David White, Traci Loader and Suzanne StokesMunton
“The Substance,” Pierre-Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon and Marilyne Scarselli
“Wicked,” Frances Hannon, Laura Blount and Sarah Nuth

Best Cinematography
“The Brutalist,” Lol Crawley  
“Dune: Part Two,” Greig Fraser 
“Emilia Pérez,” Paul Guilhaume  
“Maria,” Ed Lachman  
“Nosferatu,” Jarin Blaschke 

Best Film Editing
“Anora” Sean Baker
“The Brutalist” David Jancso
“Conclave” Nick Emerson 
“Emilia Pérez” Juliette Welfling
“Wicked” Myron Kerstein 

Best Production Design
“The Brutalist,” Production Design: Judy Becker, Set Decoration: Patricia Cuccia
“Conclave,” Production Design: Suzie Davies, Set Decoration: Cynthia Sleiter
“Dune: Part Two,” Production Design: Patrice Vermette, Set Decoration: Shane Vieau
“Nosferatu,” Production Design: Craig Lathrop, Set Decoration: Beatrice Brentnerová
“Wicked,” Production Design: Nathan Crowley, Set Decoration: Lee Sandales

Best Original Score
“The Brutalist,” Daniel Blumberg
“Conclave,” Volker Bertelmann
“Emilia Pérez,” Clément Ducol and Camille
“Wicked,” John Powell and Stephen Schwartz
“The Wild Robot,” Kris Bowers

Best Original Song
“El Mal” from “Emilia Pérez,” Music by Clément Ducol and Camille, Lyric by Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard
“The Journey” from “The Six Triple Eight,” Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
“Like a Bird” from “Sing Sing,” Music and Lyric by Abraham Alexander and Adrian Quesada
“Mi Camino” from “Emilia Pérez,” Music and Lyric by Camille and Clément Ducol
“Never Too Late” from “Elton John: Never Too Late,” Music and Lyric by Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt and Bernie Taupin

Best Sound
“A Complete Unknown,” Tod A. Maitland, Donald Sylvester, Ted Caplan, Paul Massey and David Giammarco
“Dune: Part Two,” Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett and Doug Hemphill
“Emilia Perez,” Erwan Kerzanet, Aymeric Devoldère, Maxence Dussère, Cyril Holtz and Niels Barletta
“Wicked,” Simon Hayes, Nancy Nugent Title, Jack Dolman, Andy Nelson and John Marquis
“The Wild Robot,” Randy Thom, Brian Chumney, Gary A. Rizzo and Leff Lefferts

Best Visual Effects
“Alien: Romulus,” Eric Barba, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser, Daniel Macarin and Shane Mahan
“Better Man,” Luke Millar, David Clayton, Keith Herft and Peter Stubbs
“Dune: Part Two,” Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer
“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” Erik Winquist, Stephen Unterfranz, Paul Story and Rodney Burke
“Wicked,” Pablo Helman, Jonathan Fawkner, David Shirk and Paul Corbould

Best Documentary Short Film
“Death by Numbers” Kim A. Snyder and Janique L. Robillard
“I Am Ready, Warden” (MTV Documentary Films) Smriti Mundhra and Maya Gnyp
“Incident” (The New Yorker) Bill Morrison and Jamie Kalven
“Instruments of a Beating Heart” (The New York Times OpDocs/Cineric Creative) Ema Ryan Yamazaki and Eric Nyari
“The Only Girl in the Orchestra” (Netflix) Molly O’Brien and Lisa Remington

Animated Short Film
“Beautiful Men,” (Miyu Distribution) Nicolas Keppens and Brecht Van Elslande 
“In the Shadow of Cypress,” Shirin Sohani and Hossein Molayemi
“Magic Candies,” (Toei Animation) Daisuke Nishio and Takashi Washio
“Wander to Wonder,” (Miyu Distribution) Nina Gantz and Stienette Bosklopper
“Yuck!” (Miyu Distribution) Loïc Espuche and Juliette Marquet

Best Live Action Short Film
“A Lien,” Sam Cutler-Kreutz and David Cutler-Kreutz  
“Anuja,” Adam J. Graves and Suchitra Mattai  
“I’m Not a Robot” (The New Yorker) Victoria Warmerdam and Trent
“The Last Ranger,” Cindy Lee and Darwin Shaw  
“The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent” (Manifest) Nebojša Slijepčević and Danijel Pek

#HollywoodCiak
Bengi