In “I’m still here“, a magnificent film by Walter Salles, in competition at the Venice Film Festival, Selton Mello plays Ruben Paiva, a hero of the war against dictatorship in Brazil, a kind and loving architect who could not stand idly by in the face of what was happening in his country, and paid with his life.
Selton Mello was honoured to be able to play Ruben Paiva. He talked a lot with Marcelo Paiva, one of the sons on whose book the film is based, but had very few elements: only two photos of Ruben. So his imagination had to create the character on these few suggestions, having to be faithful and believable and remarkable.
Walter Salles’ relationship with the family helped a lot
Selton Mello is very grateful to Walter Salles for the film, not least because his relationship with the family, his knowledge of the house and Ruben’s children helped him and the other actors to perfectly tell a piece of history with a capital H, because that is also what the film is about.
Plot
Brazil, 1971: a country in the tightening grip of a military dictatorship. A mother is forced to reinvent herself when her family’s life is shattered by an act of arbitrary violence.
"I'm Still Here" is a powerful family drama, political and intimate at the same time. Walter Salles directs Fernanda Torres in a state of grace for a terrific performance, with a group of fellows actors that deliver perfectly, conveying the …
Hablamos con el director Chevi Muraday y la actriz Cayetana Guillén Cuervo del documental Mapa a Pandataria, a la edición número 20 del London Spanish Film Festival.