In praise of I'm Still Here (and seeing it early at GFT!)

Hero Image

Rich Text

**In Praise of I'm Still Here (and seeing it early at GFT!)**

Paul Gallagher, GFT Programme Manager

Programming February at GFT is marked by the inescapable approach of Glasgow Film Festival (26 February - 9 March – if for some unfathomable reason it’s not in your diary yet). The festival is a double-edged sword for me: it’s both a brilliant opportunity to watch loads of great new films from around the world, and also a 12 day period where GFT is off-limits to me as a programmer. All three screens are fully programmed by the (marvellous, wonderful, beautiful) GFF programme team for that time, and on one level that’s a welcome break for me – the one point in the year where I’m not responsible for ensuring we have films on our screens.

But it also means that each year I wait slightly nervously to see which films get put on the release schedule for the Friday before and the two Fridays during the festival; I’m praying that distributors keep GFF dates in mind and don’t decide to release an ideal GFT film exactly when I can’t open it to offer to (in my opinion) the best and most engaged indie cinema audience in the UK. This is where staying in constant dialogue with film distributors is a key aspect of my job, and this year it’s been really important to securing a full week of previews in February for one of those ideal GFT films that has landed in the schedule just a bit too close to GFF for comfort.

The film in question is I’m Still Here (Ainda Estou Aqui), the latest from The Motorcycle Diaries director Walter Salles, and the master Brazilian filmmaker’s first new dramatic feature film in over a decade. It focuses on the real-life story of Eunice Paiva (Golden Globe Best Actress winner Fernanda Torres), whose terrifying experience of sequestration and loss during Brazil’s military dictatorship transformed her into an activist, lawyer, and hero. It’s a full-bodied return from Salles, and has stayed with me since watching it on my first day at Toronto Film Festival in September last year. Beginning with a joyous evocation of family life in a glorious 1970s summer in Rio, the film becomes gradually darker, developing a sustained, tense thriller-like tone, then shifts again into a final section that is a moving account of survival and the importance of bearing witness to injustice. Spearheaded by a deeply-felt lead performance by Fernanda Torres, this is intelligent, powerful and superbly-crafted foreign-language cinema. It’s the kind of considered, mature and relevant film that we don’t see nearly enough of in the week-to-week cinema release schedules, and it’s absolutely perfect for GFT!

So when I heard from the film’s distributors Altitude Films that they were looking at 21 February to release it, my first question was ‘please can we have it early at GFT?’ And to their great credit and my immense gratitude, they immediately said ‘yes, absolutely.’ It’s never a sure thing when you ask a distributor a question like that; responses move really quickly from ‘Oh interesting question! Let me ask…’ to ‘Sorry, we would love to but it just doesn’t fit with our plans.’ But Altitude are one of a small bunch of film distributors who seem to clearly understand how beneficial it is to work together with indie cinemas to really connect their films with the right audiences – more power to them and those like them!

All of this to say that I urge you to take note of our dates for I’m Still Here at GFT, starting from 14 February, and make sure to get in early on one of the first highlights of 2025 at the cinema.

Click here to view screening times for I'm Still Here.

Footer