Fernanda Torres is making the Oscar run of her life. For Brazilians, she's already won something larger

Speaking to The Times successful 2019, Brazilian acting fable Fernanda Montenegro described receiving an Academy Award information 20 years earlier for her relation successful Walter Salles’ “Central Station” — and her extended campaigning for it — arsenic “a travel to Jupiter.”

Montenegro’s stateside designation was unprecedented: the archetypal clip a Brazilian histrion competed astatine the Oscars. But the glitzy, agelong process of interviews, parties and manufacture events was shocking and incredibly overseas for the venerated star.

“I was 70 years old, speaking successful different language, representing different culture, and I was celebrated by large artists who I’d ne'er stopped watching connected the screen,” Montenegro added. “They treated maine arsenic an equal.”

Now, successful a fairy-tale-worthy full-circle moment, her daughter, Fernanda Torres, has landed her ain pb histrion Oscar information — Brazil’s 2nd successful past — for the searing 1970s-set humanities play “I’m Still Here,” besides directed by Salles, successful which the 95-year-old Montenegro has a little appearance.

“I was besides going to Jupiter but with a amended spaceship,” Torres, 59, says astir her awards-season acquisition during a caller interrogation astatine CAA’s offices successful Century City close aft doing a Q&A with Salles astatine the agency’s screening room.

She’s spent sizeable clip successful Los Angeles implicit the past fewer months, connected a jam-packed docket of screenings, property and tv appearances (including a January quality connected “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”). Though we’re chatting adjacent the extremity of this agelong journey, the fashionably casual Torres, wearing a leather jacket, inactive speaks astir “I’m Still Here” with spirited conviction, laughing constantly.

She compares her galore postscreening Q&As to an evangelizing mission. “It’s similar a clergyman going colony by village, taking the connection of the Lord,” she says.

“I’m Still Here,” a Portuguese-language film, isn’t the astir evident awards contender. Based connected Marcelo Paiva’s memoir, the movie chronicles the existent communicative of Eunice Paiva (Torres), a housewife turned lawyer and activistic who raised her children and fought for justness aft her husband, Rubens, a erstwhile politician, disappeared successful 1971 during Brazil’s subject dictatorship.

“It’s astonishing however this movie touches hearts,” Torres adds. “Little by little, radical started to speech astir it, and it became this acheronian equine successful the mediate of large films.”

The cinematic crusade paid off. “I’m Still Here” besides received Oscar nods for planetary movie and — successful a astonishment — champion picture, alongside specified Hollywood behemoths arsenic “Wicked” and “Dune: Part Two.”

Fernanda Torres successful the movie “I’m Still Here.”

(Alile Onawale / Sony Pictures Classics)

In January, Torres made past arsenic the archetypal Brazilian histrion to triumph a Golden Globe. Brazilian fans person been euphoric ever since, exalting each societal media station astir her and the movie with likes successful the millions.

“In Brazil, we are precise arrogant of our civilization and we devour our ain culture,” Torres explains. “But it’s precise uncommon that idiosyncratic [succeeds] abroad, truthful erstwhile it happens, there’s this pridefulness that idiosyncratic is recognizing thing that we ever knew was a talent. It’s similar a confirmation.”

Torres’ Golden Globe triumph and her eventual Oscar information were origin for wide elation successful the South American country.

“There was a humble pistillate who said, ‘I thought that I was there. That trophy was for me. It was for each artists. I thought it was ours,’” a profoundly moved Torres recalls astir a TV clip of a pistillate emotionally reacting to the actor’s Golden Globe triumph that went viral. “In Brazil, it’s achieved this depth. I cognize fame, but this is not fame — it’s much than that.”

Montenegro, who mislaid the Oscar to Gwyneth Paltrow successful “Shakespeare successful Love,” is overjoyed to spot her girl repetition her improbable feat being nominated each these years later.

“She’s precise blessed — she’s proud,” Torres says, beaming with adoration for her vivacious mother. “She’s 95 and inactive moving similar a furious lion. To unrecorded truthful agelong and to spot this happening, and for a movie that we are successful together, is beautiful. I mean, it’s axenic magic.”

Brazilians were thrown into a corporate funk backmost successful 1999 erstwhile Montenegro wasn’t victorious. (“My parent is similar a queen successful Brazil,” Torres says.) According to news outlets, fans person ne'er gotten implicit it, with galore of them taking to societal media each twelvemonth connected Oscar nighttime to telephone it “the top injustice successful history.” Judging by the fervorous posts of this year’s race, they anticipation Torres has a amended outcome.

But amid the reddish carpets, photograph shoots and glamorous encounters with Hollywood A-listers, 1 runs the hazard of forgetting what’s genuinely important, Torres offers.

“You tin suffer yourself reasoning it’s astir you,” she says. “In this case, I ever retrieve that what makes radical truthful amazed with my beingness successful the movie is the information that I was capable to link and beryllium faithful to Eunice Paiva. She’s the prima successful this film. She taught maine a batch astir acting, astir restraining emotions, astir not being melodramatic, astir self-control.”

Since its premiere astatine the Venice Film Festival past year, “I’m Still Here” has accrued captious praise for Torres’ unassuming show grounded successful internalized grief. Aside from Salles’ direction, Torres besides channeled immoderate cardinal proposal from her mom.

“In 1 of our conversations, my parent erstwhile told me, ‘When you bash a Greek tragedy, you cannot commencement crying with the archetypal atrocious news,’” says Torres. “‘On the contrary, you person to swallow and endure.’ And I remembered this erstwhile I was playing Eunice.”

With the U.S. and different countries astir the satellite present facing the menace of authoritarianism successful a existent way, Torres believes that her character’s diligent yet diligent absorption tin beryllium a exemplary for however we tin endure and decision retrograde ideologies and oppressive governments.

“She understood that it would instrumentality a agelong clip for the dictatorship to beryllium implicit and that her combat would instrumentality decades, but she ne'er gave up,” says Torres. “She went backmost to schoolhouse and became a quality rights lawyer. We person to beryllium prepared for a agelong marathon, similar Eunice.”

Paiva, who died successful 2018, is inactive enacting alteration astatine location done “I’m Still Here.” Not lone has the movie brought unneurotic radical from opposing ideological factions into Brazilian cinemas (it has sold much than 4 cardinal tickets since its merchandise successful November) but successful the country’s Supreme Court, curate Flávio Dino cited Salles’ movie portion discussing amending a 1979 amnesty instrumentality truthful that definite crimes committed during the dictatorship — specified arsenic the concealment of a assemblage — tin beryllium prosecuted.

Beyond politics, Torres thinks “I’m Still Here” has done truthful good astir the satellite due to the fact that audiences consciousness an elemental empathy for a parent and her children successful distress. Salles’ communicative focuses connected the quality acquisition nether dire circumstances.

“Walter ever quotes my parent due to the fact that she erstwhile said, ‘I conscionable privation to bash existential theater.’ And Walter made an existential movie.”

As for however the spotlight connected the movie and her show could person an effect connected her career, Torres remains cautious. After she won an acting prize astatine the Cannes Film Festival successful 1986 (another nationalist archetypal for Brazil) for Arnaldo Jabor’s “Love Me Forever oregon Never,” things didn’t change.

“There was thing overseas for me,” she recalls. “I didn’t talk English arsenic good arsenic I bash today, and I was not a peculiar beauty, which helps erstwhile you are young, truthful I went backmost to my country, wherever determination was nary cinema industry, and I did a batch of theater.”

This clip around, aft galore palmy years connected fashionable TV projects, she would emotion to enactment with Pedro Almodóvar oregon Denis Villeneuve, oregon to beryllium portion of the formed of “Severance.” (“I would wage to beryllium determination with Ben Stiller, [John] Turturro and Christopher Walken, please,” she says, a axenic fan.)

Still, Torres won’t ever wholly permission Brazil due to the fact that it’s wherever she feels she tin marque a quality with her offscreen enactment arsenic a paper columnist, novelist and playwright.

“When radical inquire maine astir Hollywood I think, ‘What is Hollywood?’ Hollywood tin beryllium anywhere.”

The Oscars volition instrumentality spot during Carnival week, Brazil’s festive nationwide celebration. “People would spell nuts,” says Torres astir the absorption that immoderate triumph for “I’m Still Here” would nary uncertainty generate. For now, Torres has already transcended her erstwhile personage presumption to participate a rarefied echelon arsenic portion of Brazil’s corporate consciousness successful a caller way.

“The pinnacle of accomplishment successful Brazil is to go a costume successful Carnival — for radical to spell successful the streets dressed up arsenic you,” Torres explains, smiling. “And it’s happening already. People are dressing up arsenic maine holding the Golden Globe oregon arsenic maine successful 1 of the sitcoms I did.”

About what could hap connected Oscar night, the regal yet disarming Torres is choosing to beryllium grateful for each the accolades she’s already received.

“I deliberation the chances for maine to triumph are precise low,” Torres says, possibly excessively humbly, of a contention that has already seen its stock of twists and turns. “It tin happen, but I don’t know. I don’t similar expectations. I privation to beryllium there, blessed conscionable due to the fact that I’m there.”

Whether oregon not Torres’ sanction is successful the envelope, it’s already etched successful Brazil’s history.