The actor plays former deputy and civil engineer Rubens Paiva in a film directed by Walter Salles.
Brazil’s great hope for the 2025 Oscars, “I’m still here” has moved audiences around the world and promises to do the same with Brazilian viewers. Screening at the 48th Sao Paulo International Film Festival, starting this Friday (18), the film directed by Walter Salles does not spare tears, not even from the actors.
Set in the years of the Brazilian military dictatorship, the film tells the story of the Paiva family following the disappearance of the patriarch, the civil engineer and former deputy Rubens Paiva, taken by military agents from his own home in the Leblon neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro , on January 20, 1971. With no answers about her husband and five children to care for, Eunice radically transforms her life in the face of this absence, to keep the family afloat and pressure the government for answers about it. Where is Rubens. The work tells of this journey in the face of this pain that she herself does not have time to experience.
Speaking to an audience of journalists during the press conference for the launch of the film, Selton Mello He didn’t hold back his emotion. The actor cried when talking about the feeling of finally releasing the work on Brazilian soil and remembered his mother.
Just like Eunice Paiva, Aretuza Figueiredo Apple Tree Jungle, mother of Selton and Danton Mellohe suffered from Alzheimer’s and died last July, aged 83.
“We are very excited to be here, it is the beginning of our story, our meeting with Brazilians, with our audience and our language. And it is that story: by talking about our village, we touch the world. This is what it happens on trips and at festivals,” Selton explained.
The actor, who gained 20 kilos to realistically portray the figure of Rubens Paiva, says that the physical transformation is the least of the inconveniences. “It’s part of the business, part of the work. I think the beauty here is talking about meetings. For me it’s a reunion with Marcelo, of whom I have been a fan and friend for many years”, said the writer whose work has inspired film.
“I belong to the generation that was completely influenced by Feliz Ano Velho, I love and respect Marcelo and I never imagined in my life that one day I would play Marcelo’s father. It was very exciting, I won’t pretend otherwise. I had some photographs of Rubens as a guide, there were no moving images. I saw photos, I heard things about Rubens from Marcelo, from his sisters and from his friends. My mission in the film was to illuminate the first half, spiritually speaking, more than technically.”
Eunice Paiva’s story moved Selton Mello to tears for her mother
During the press conference, the actor “opened his heart” when talking about the film’s universality. He took the opportunity to explain why emotion spoke louder.
“My mission in this film was to illuminate this first half, spiritually speaking, more than technically. ‘Waltinho’ is the master of the delicacies of this craft. He is a director, in fact, and he directs everything in a very precise, very elegant way, as it is in life, with Waltinho taking the camera and filming something”, he praised.
“It was so beautiful, so beautiful! And that’s why everything is so strong in this work. It’s a film about memory. At the end of this film, we have Fernanda Montenegro with Alzheimer’s, and that’s how I lost my mother too , It didn’t start that long ago with a very personal journey, but little by little this film became ours too, it became a great inner journey for all of us.”
“I’m still here” arrives in cinemas across Brazil on November 7.
Source: Terra
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
