U nfortunately, few mainstream audiences have seen 2025's Best International Feature winner at the Oscars, I'm Still Here, which beat out the widely controversial Emilia Peréz. D

When Spanish actress Penélope Cruz announced that “I’m Still Here” was the winner of best international film at the Academy Awards, Brazilians roared at home and on the streets, where Carnival festivities have been ongoing since Saturday.

The film is based on a true story set in 1970s Rio de Janeiro, when Brazil was living under a military dictatorship.

After celebrating its three Oscar nominations for Walter Salles’ “I’m Still Here” with the same excitement it normally reserves for the soccer World Cup, Brazil went into overdrive when it took home the best international feature statuette.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “I’m Still Here,” a Brazilian film about a family torn apart by the military dictatorship that ruled Brazil for more than two decades, won the Oscar on Sunday for best international film.

The best picture and best actress nominations for “I’m Still Here” have inspired national pride in a country whose culture has long been overlooked.

Brazil’s Carnival muse this year isn’t one of the divas or drum queens parading with the Rio de Janeiro samba schools.

The Girl with the Needle,' 'The Seed of the Sacred Fig,' 'Flow,' 'Emilia Pérez' and 'I'm Still Here' were all up for Best International Feature

The Brazilian film 'I'm Still Here,' depicting a family's struggle during military dictatorship, wins the Oscar for Best International Film at the 2025 Academy Awards, overshadowing competitors like 'Emilia Perez' and 'Flow.

Get the latest news and live updates on the 2025 Oscars. Follow this year’s Academy Award winners, red carpet looks, memorable speeches and more as Conan O’Brien hosts.

Bob-Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown, and Edward Berger’s papal drama, Conclave, both bagged eight nominations, and Sean Baker’s Cinderella story, Anora, garnered six. All six are in the running for Best Picture.— Rebecca Schneid

“I’m Still Here,” the Brazilian film based on the true story of an ordinary woman who found herself fighting her nation’s military dictatorship, won the Oscar for best international film at the Academy Awards on Sunday.