When 2025 Oscar nominations Was announced on Thursday, awards that watched to see the titles “Emilia Pérez”, “Conclave” and “Wicked” in the lineup. But the gripping, Human Brazilian drama “I’m still here” was a surprising inclusion on the best picture list.
Pundits had expected the film to appear in the categories best international elements and potentially best actress (Fernanda Torres), both of whom did, but the academy members – 9,905 voters on the last bill – also supported the film over all branches to score a sought -after nomination of the best picture.
“Academy members have always forced to high quality work,” Michael Barker, co -chairman of the film’s distributor Sony Pictures Classics, told Thewrap. “Of course we knew that this movie was of high quality and we knew that if we got enough academy members to see it, we would get a shot.”
He added, “That strategy started a long time ago, and (colleagues with president Tom Bernard) and I have always claimed that if the movie is really good and if you get started early enough, you can get in there.”
And Barker should know. “I’m still here” marks Sony Pictures Classics’ 10th best image nomination in its history, for films that are so idiosyncratic and loved as “capote”, “amour”, hidden dragon. ”
But Barker is also honest about the reality of an award campaign. “Many amazing movies don’t do it,” he said. “We’ve seen it with some fantastic pictures this year. All we can do is get the most academy members to watch the movie. They will all see all “A” movies, those who have the most star power and get the most attention. But there are so many other films that just don’t make the cut because enough academy members have not seen them. “
This is where the organization comes in. SPC acquired “I’m still here” in May last year, before the film had completely completed the post -production. “When we got on board, we started working on a strategy to get academy members to watch the movie,” Barker explained. “We did it with ‘Amour’, we did it with ‘call me by your name.’ It makes a difference when you can get a long track for your movie. ”
“I’m still here” focuses on the real pursuit of Eunice Paiva (Torres, in a Gena Rowlands-caliber performance) to find justice for the government-related disappearance of their spouse. It premiered to rave reviews at the Venice Film Festival in September and later played festivals in Toronto, New York and London.
Barker, who participates in many of the shows and personal questions and who for his company’s films, noticed a vibe among the audience watching the film.
“Immediate standing ovations at every screening, as at all festivals and AFI and so on,” he said. “And when you get that kind of immediate reaction, you know you have something. It was so strong and so emotionally. And then we heard from people who had shown the film on the Academy Screening platform, and they told us how the ways the film so touched them. “
Barker continued, “so we knew it worked both on the big screen and the smaller screen, but it always works better on the big screen. And so we strategized (in-theater) from the beginning, hold a lot of views and hope that something similar can happen just around the release time. “
And actually, “I’m still here” opened in a handful of theaters on January 17, after briefly qualified for Oscars last year. Now it has the extra prestige to be a best image -nominated.
“We are convinced that the wider public will embrace this movie,” Barker said. “This movie is as good as any English -language political thriller with something to say. And so it is obvious that these nominations will help bring the film to a mainstream audience. And when a foreign film is nominated for the best image, suddenly that movie gets an audience it may not have had before. ”
“That’s why we always had the dream of getting that nomination,” he added. “The goal here is to get as many people as possible to see this masterpiece and to have this nomination will help to realize it.”
Barker also pointed out that the film’s exposure was favored by the Golden Globe victory for Torres, which occurred a few days before the Oscar vote began. “Fernanda’s spectacular speech at the Golden Globes, for her incredible, great performance, was very helpful in getting the movie attention,” Barker said. “Because we knew when people saw it they would be for it.”
Sony Pictures Classics also released “Central Station”, the 1998 movie that received an Oscar nomination for the principal actress Fernanda Montenegro, Torres’ mother. “They are the second mother and daughter who are both nominated for Oscar for best leading actress, after Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli,” Barker noted (and he is correct, even if he indicated it Other mother-daughter pairs has been nominated for supporting actress Oscar).
“The Torres family, Fernanda’s father too, they are like Barrymores of Brazil,” he said. “It’s just good to see what has been handed over to generation to generation. Fernanda Montenegro, who is over 90 years old, she still performs in the theater in Brazil, which we speak. And she’s in (“I’m still here”) too. “
Barker also acknowledged the primary creative power behind the film and its Oscar glory. “That would be Director Walter Salles“He said. “We released his” Central Station “26 years ago and it is so good to work with this master film creator. His performance as a director has been recognized by many and he has anchored the entire project from the beginning. “
