No one forgets their first Oscar.

I no longer have any doubt, after watching many videos of predictions from Hollywood experts, that Brazil will win its first Oscar tomorrow night and that it will be celebrated like the first World Cup in 1958. I saw everyone jumping and dancing on São Caetano Street in São Paulo, where I lived, as if it were Carnival. Everything was gray back then, from the clothes to the building facades, but suddenly the street became colorful and musical. The men in suits and ties, the women in well-behaved dresses, but they were jumping and dancing, throwing umbrellas and hats in the air—a collective ecstasy I had never seen in my nine years of life. I still had a suspicion a few weeks ago that it was between the Brazilian and the French film, but now I'm sure that "Still Here" is a sure thing. It's already become a unanimous choice in Hollywood, just like the awards for supporting actor (Kiran Culkin), supporting actress (Zoe Saldaña), and best song. (“El Mal”, by “Emília Pérez”), Walter Salles’ film conquered critics, audiences, and the American star system, becoming a national passion. Just watch the videos of the experts, guys who know the logic of the awards, who have been following the Oscars for a long time (I’m saying “guys,” but it’s not just men), and I haven’t seen a single one point out any flaws. On the contrary, they say they “loved” it and predict the Oscar without even considering the Frenchman, who fell from grace and became the most infamous film of the Oscars. 

These same experts, however, unanimously, despite also "loving" her performance, do not mention Fernanda Torres. I didn't see a single one betting on her. There's a duel between Demi Moore and Mickey Madison, and that's where, obviously, regionalism comes in. Both are American, one from the older generation, the other from the new, so they (both men and women) place Fernanda third. Most are with Mickey Madison, Demi Moore second, and then Fernanda (it's normal for Americans to vote for Americans and Brazilians to vote for Brazilians). This doesn't mean she's any less of an actress than the others; of course she is, and she's great in the film. Then other factors come into play, such as the American film industry. The victory of "Still Here" doesn't affect Hollywood, but Fernanda's would, because it would beat the Americans, while the film, by winning the Oscar, doesn't beat the Americans, but rather the French (the other competitors aren't taken seriously). But of course, the film's victory is above all a victory for her, who is... 90% of the film, she is the face of the film, it's her face that's on the poster, the Oscar of the film is Fernanda's Oscar, the Oscar for international film, not the Oscar Oscar, the same experts who point to "I'm Still Here" on the international shelf don't include it (not a single one of them) as the best film of all time, the number 1, which is more like the American "Anora".

Even so, it's a top-quality Oscar, artistic rather than technical, the greatest triumph of Brazilian cinema since the "Palme d'Or" that Anselmo Duarte won at Cannes for the classic "O Pagador de Promessas" in 1962, beating, among others, geniuses like Buñuel ("The Exterminating Angel") and Antonioni ("L'Eclisse"), and it will open the doors of the world to national cinema.   

An achievement as extraordinary as the 1958 World Cup. 

And this time there will be no need to improvise Carnival.