Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (November 5, 2025)—Production sound mixer Laura Zimmermann won Brazil’s highest award for sound for her work on director Walter Salles’ 2024 political biographical drama I’m Still Here, a shoot that had its challenges.
“This was the biggest project I’ve ever worked on, so I needed rock-solid transmitters and receivers. That’s why I chose Lectrosonics,” Zimmermann says. “My kit for I’m Still Here included SMQV transmitters and SSM micro transmitters extensively for the cast, LMB transmitters for the cars and other objects, and HMA plug-on transmitters for directional and cardioid microphones and booms. We used DSR4, SRC and DSQD receivers, and of course, DCR822 receivers, which are my favorite.”
The location sound work was split between Rio and São Paulo, so Zimmermann needed wireless systems that could deliver in Brazil’s notoriously “messy frequency spectrum,” Zimmerman says. “You have to care about frequency coordination when you work here in Brazil, but once I determined the best frequencies, Lectrosonics performed so consistently. We filmed in the house for six weeks and I never had to change frequencies. It was great.”
Salles cares about the authenticity of sound in his films, Zimmerman shares. “The film’s setting was from the 1970s through the present day, and he absolutely wanted to the audio to match the time and have those vintage sonic textures. To achieve the acoustic environments Walter had in mind, I was given the opportunity to have full sets, solely dedicated to the capture of sound, without the camera rolling.”
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She continues, “I was able to work hand-in-hand with the art department to acoustically prepare the sets, especially the main house, which was almost like another character of the movie. They acoustically treated the tiles and walls to control reverberation. This preparation was key because Walter preferred the cast to be able to act more freely and spontaneously and the treatment ensured I would capture the audio we needed without heavily marking the actors.”
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Zimmermann earned the 2025 Brazilian Film Academy’s Grande Otelo Award (Best Sound) for her work on I’m Still Here, the first film from Brazil to receive an Oscar. I’m Still Here is available on Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon Prime and other streaming services.
