Resumo

This article analyzes the film Ainda Estou Aqui (2024), directed by Walter Salles, through the lens of memory as a narrative and poetic element. Adapted from the eponymous novel by Marcelo Rubens Paiva, the feature film intertwines individual and collective experiences to reconstruct the effects of the military dictatorship in Brazil, focusing on the life and legacy of Eunice Paiva. Winner of the Best Screenplay award at the Venice Film Festival and recipient of the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, the work marks a milestone in Brazilian cinema by offering a sensitive and politically engaged portrayal of the country’s recent history.
Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of Linda Hutcheon and Robert Stam regarding literary adaptation, the article examines the processes involved in translating the narrative from page to screen, emphasizing the audiovisual strategies that evoke and challenge memory. The analysis further explores how the filmic construction contributes to the formation of collective identity by bringing silenced voices to the forefront and proposing an ethics of remembrance in the face of historical erasure.
The guiding research question — “How does Ainda Estou Aqui construct a narrative of recovery and (re) construction of individual and collective memory?” — informs the examination of the film’s formal and discursive elements. The study concludes that the film functions not only as historical testimony but also as a cultural act of resistance, reaffirming the role of cinema in preserving democratic memory and revalorizing emblematic figures in the struggle for human rights in Brazil.