Fernanda Torres holding the Golden Globe trophy

Fernanda Torres: How a daughter's victory represents a historic reparation with her mother

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Understand the historic mistake of the 1999 Oscars with “Central do Brasil” until the current impact of “I'm Still Here” in 2024

The campaign for the nomination of Fernanda Torres ao Oscar 2025 gained momentum after the actress conquer the Golden Globes (Golden Globe) for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama for his performance in the feature film The In Between, Walter salles. Excited, Torres dedicated the award to his mother, Fernanda Montenegro, who, 25 years ago, was also nominated for a Golden Globe in the same category and an Oscar for her brilliant performance in Central do Brasil, a film that was also directed by Salles.

Fernanda Montenegro’s “stolen” Oscar

Photo of the cast and crew of Central do Brasil at the 1999 Oscars
Cast and crew of Central Station at the Oscars (Image: Pop Cult)

The actress Fernanda Montenegro, one of the biggest names in Brazilian drama, made history by representing Brazil at the 1999 Oscars, when she was nominated in the Best Actress category for her work in the film Central do Brasil, Walter salles. In this edition, she competed with Cate Blanchett, Meryl Streep, Emily Watson e Gwyneth Paltrow. So far, she was the first and only Latin American actress nominated for the statuette for a role in Portuguese. Now, everyone is waiting for her daughter, Fernanda Torres, change history and continue with this legacy being the second. 

Despite the national commotion and cultural impact of the nomination of Fernanda Montenegro at the Oscars, she did not take home the award. The title of Best Actress of the year was given to Gwyneth Paltrow, for the feature film Shakespeare in Love

List of actresses nominated for the Oscar for Best Actress in 1999
Nominated for the Oscar for Best Actress in 1999 (Image: O Globo)

To this day, this decision is seen as one of the greatest injustices in the history of the awards. Even the actress Glenn Close expressed his indignation by stating that Fernanda Montenegro deserved the Oscar, while many critics also questioned the unexpected victory of Paltrow

Another interesting fact is that, 25 years ago, Montenegro was also nominated for a Golden Globe in the same category as Fernanda Torres won the award this year, as Best Actress. Although she did not win this award, the Brazilian had the privilege of seeing the film Central do Brasil win in the category of Best Film Not in the English Language. With that, she ended up taking on the role to give the speech and represent the team. Her introductory phrase has remained memorable to this day: “'My English is not so good, but my soul is better”, joked the actress.

The impact of Central do Brasil reached global level amid its campaign and, despite not winning the Oscar, the film secured other important awards, including the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival. The figure of Fernanda Montenegro It has also established itself as a symbol of the talent and strength of Brazilian art in international cinema.

Central do Brasil accompanies Dora (Fernanda Montenegro), a bitter ex-teacher who makes a living writing letters to illiterate people who dictate what they want to tell their families. She pockets the money without even posting the letters. One day, Josué (Vinicius de Oliveira), the nine-year-old son of one of her clients, ends up alone when his mother is killed in a bus accident. She is reluctant to take care of the boy, but joins him on a trip through the countryside of the Northeast in search of his father. Josué, which he never knew.

You can watch the movie Central do Brasil na Netflix.

Fernanda Torres' achievement at the Golden Globes

Fernanda Torres at Golden Globes
Fernanda Torres at the Golden Globes (Image: Agência Brasil)

Already at the beginning of 2025, exactly 25 years after the historic journey of Fernanda Montenegro at the Oscars and in other awards, his daughter, Fernanda Torres, achieved two very important milestones: the historical reparation of his mother and an achievement of his own with his brilliantly executed role in the film The In BetweenDirected by Walter salles. She won the Golden Globe for Best Actress and competed with big names such as Kate Winslet, Nicole Kidman, Pamela Anderson, Angelina Jolie e Tilda Swinton.

With this award, Fernanda Torres became the first Brazilian to win the Golden Globe for Best Actress. She played Eunice Paiva, wife of the former deputy Rubens Paiva, Played by Selton MelloOn The In Between, feature film based on the book by Marcelo Rubens Paiva

During her speech, the actress did not hide her emotion when remembering the trajectory of her mother, who was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1999, but ended up not winning the statuette, generating a great discussion to this day about the “injustice” of that edition.

“I want to dedicate this award to my mother, you have no idea, she was here 25 years ago, and this is proof that art lasts a lifetime,” he said. Fernanda when talking about the importance of her mother's legacy. The actress also highlighted the importance of The In Between as a film that, despite portraying difficult times, brings a message of resistance.

The In Between is showing in theaters. 

Expectations for the 2025 Oscars

with the victory of Fernanda Torres at the Golden Globes, the Oscar campaign grew even stronger, making her talent visible internationally and showing that she is one of the greatest Brazilian actresses of her generation. 

In addition to being a strong candidate for the Best Actress award, mainly due to critical acclaim, the film itself The In Between — which was also nominated for Best International Film at the Golden Globes — has already won important awards at festivals, such as Venice, where it won the award for Best Screenplay, and remains one of the favorites to be nominated for the 2025 Oscars. 

As part of the publicity campaign The In Between, recently, Fernanda Torres was interviewed at talk show norte-americano Jimmy Kimmel Live, one of the most popular in the United States.

Furthermore, the film is also among the favorites to appear on the list of Best International Film, as it was part of the selection of 14 films made by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Expectations are high and not only the actress's fans, but the whole of Brazil is eagerly awaiting the list of Oscar nominees this year. It is time to renew the historical milestone of Brazilian cinema and bring the first statuette to the country. 

However, we will have to wait a little longer. This is because the Academy has once again changed the date for the announcement of the Oscar nominations, which was postponed due to the recent fires in Los Angeles. Now, the list is expected to be announced next Thursday, January 23. Nominees will be announced at a virtual event with no in-person coverage.

Stay up to date with the latest news about the campaign Fernanda Torres and the feature film The In Between for the 2025 Oscars here at showmetech. And don't forget to leave your comments about your expectations in this recommendation.

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Sources: GShow, Forbes e with the BBC

review by Jaime Ninece in 19 / 01 / 2025.


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