Marcelo Rubens Paiva
Marcelo Rubens Paiva (born 1 May 1959) is a Brazilian novelist, playwright, screenwriter and journalist born in São Paulo, Brazil. He is the son of Rubens Paiva, who was murdered during Brazil's military dictatorship in 1971. The impact of his father's disappearance on his family's life, especially on his mother, Eunice Paiva, is portrayed in his 2015 autobiography Ainda estou aqui, which served as the basis for the Oscar-winning 2024 film I'm Still Here.
Also recorded as Paiva, Marcelo Rubens · Marcelo Rubens Beyrodt Paiva
Marcelo Rubens Paiva

Harald Krichel · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Name
- Marcelo Rubens Paiva
- Born
- 1 May 1959
- Birthplace
- São Paulo, Brazil
- Occupation
- * Novelist
- Education
- * State University of Campinas
- Full name
- Marcelo Rubens Beyrodt Paiva.
- Nationality
- Brazil.
- Known for
- Feliz Ano Velho and I'm Still Here.
- Honours
- Prêmio Jabuti and Order of Cultural Merit (Brazil).
- Languages
- Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese.
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q2700188 · wikipedia · Marcelo Rubens Paiva
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The documentary record
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Institutions cited
Bibliothèque nationale de France · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Complete reading chain (JSON)In this article
Biography
Biography
Marcelo Rubens Paiva studied at University of Campinas and University of São Paulo. The recorded working language is Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese. Works named in the authority record are Feliz Ano Velho and I'm Still Here. Distinctions recorded are Prêmio Jabuti and Order of Cultural Merit (Brazil).

Marcelo Rubens Paiva, escritor brasileiro, durante a Balada Literária, na Livraria da Vila, em São Paulo.
Braswiki

Writer Marcelo Rubens Paiva at the 81st Venice International Film Festival
Harald Krichel
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Marcelo Rubens Paiva • Landscape — no • Born — 1 May 1959 • Birthplace — São Paulo, Brazil • Occupation — * Novelist • playwright • screenwriter • journalist • Education — * State University of Campinas • University of São Paulo • Stanford University • Parents — Eunice and Rubens Paiva
Biography
Biography
Marcelo Rubens Paiva is the only son of Eunice and Rubens Paiva, who also had four daughters. At the age of six he moved to the city of Rio de Janeiro in 1966, after his father, then a member of Brazil's Chamber of Deputies, was impeached and exiled following the 1964 Brazilian coup d'état. In 1971, when Marcelo was 11, his father "disappeared" after being arrested, tortured and killed in the city of Rio de Janeiro by the military. His body was never found. The Rubens Paiva family was then forced to move from the city. He returned to live in São Paulo in 1974, and there he was a student at the Colégio Santa Cruz. He studied agricultural engineering at the State University of Campinas. When jumping into a shallow lake at 20 years old, Paiva fractured his spine and became tetraplegic. In 1983, after extensive physiotherapy, he gained the movement of both arms and hands and wrote Feliz Ano Velho (Happy Old Year), an autobiographical recollection of these events and his entire life. The book was adapted into a play directed by Paulo Betti and also a film, directed by Roberto Gervitz. It won the Jabuti Prize, the most important literary award in Brazil. Marcelo Rubens Paiva is a writer, screenwriter and playwright. He graduated in Communication Radio & TV (USP; 1982–87), drama course (Centro de Pesquisas Teatrais do Sesc-SP; 1989–90), master in Literature (Unicamp; 1991–94) and the Knight Fellowship Program (Stanford University, CA; 1995–96).
Career
Career
He wrote for TV Teleplay with Fernando Meirelles (Olho Mágico, 1987), TV Cultura (Leitura Livre, 1984, Fanzine, 1992–94), Rede Globo (Vida ao Vivo - Fantástico, 2000, and Sexo Frágil, 2003–04), BandTV with Mauro Lima (Aventuras de Tiazinha), Multishow GloboSat (Segunda Vez, 2014, and E Aí, Comeu?, 2016). Writer's room for Conspiração (Contravenção, 2018–19) and Feliz Ano Velho (MaFilmes, 2019). He was Emmy nominated for the teleplay of O Homem Mais Forte do Mundo (TV Globo, 2018). He has written films such as Bicho de 7 Cabeças (1999), Malu de Bicicleta (2010), E Aí, Comeu? (2012), Depois de Tudo (2015), Mais Forte que o Mundo (2016), and the docs Fiel e Polanski no Brasil. Four times nominated as best screenwriter by Academia Brasileira de Cinema. He won the ABL prize for the script of Malu de Bicicleta and wrote the screenplays of Casagrande e Seus Demônios (Globo e Paris Filmes), Código 12 (Barretos) and The Book (Tambellini Filme). Marcelo Rubens Paiva has also written Feliz Ano Velho (1982, Prêmio Jabuti), Blecaute (1986), Ua:brari (1990), Bala na Agulha (1992), Não És Tu, Brasil (1996), Malu de Bicicleta (2003), A Segunda Vez Que Te Conheci (2009), Orangotango Marxista (2016) by Companhia das Das Letras, As Fêmeas (1994), O Homem Que Conhecia as Mulheres (2006) and As Verdades Que Ela Não Diz (2012), Ainda Estou Aqui (prêmio Jabuti 2015), Meninos em Fúria (2016), and Menino e o Foguete (Jabuti de 2017), which was translated into English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, and Czech. He has also written theatre plays: 525 Linhas (1989), E Aí, Comeu? (1999, Prêmo Shell), Mais-Que-Imperfeito (2000), As Mentiras que os Homens Contam (2001), Closet Show (2001), No Retrovisor (2002), Amo-te (2006), A Noite Mais Fria do Ano (2009), O Predador Entra Na Sala (2010). For the press, since 1983, he has written columns for newspapers and magazines such as Veja, Folha de S. Paulo, Vogue RG, O Estado de São Paulo, Miami Herald, San Francisco Chronicle, New York Times. Since 2003, he has written a column for the Brazilian newspaper Estadão. In 2024, his autobiographical novel Ainda estou aqui was adapted to film, directed by his close friend, Walter Salles.
Works
Works
Books • Feliz Ano Velho (1982) • Blecaute (1986) • Ua brari (1990) • Bala na Agulha (1992) • As Fêmeas (1994) • Não És Tu, Brasil (1996) • Malu de Bicicleta (2002) • O Homem que Conhecia as Mulheres (2006) • A Segunda Vez que Te Conheci (2008) • Marcelo Rubens Paiva - Crônicas para ler na escola (2011) • E Aí, Comeu? (2012) • As Verdades Que Ela Não Diz (2012) • 1 drible, 2 dribles, 3 dribles: manual do pequeno craque cidadão (2014) • Ainda Estou Aqui (2015) • Meninos em Fúria (2016) • O Orangotango Marxista (2018) • O Homem Ridículo (2019) Screenplays • Fiel (2012) • E Aí, Comeu? (2012) • Malu de Bicicleta (2013) • Depois de Tudo (2015) • Mais Forte que o Mundo (2016) • Código 12 (2017) • O Book (2018) • Casagrande e Seus Demônios (2019) Stage plays • 525 Linhas (1989) • E Aí, Comeu? (Da Boca pra Fora) (1998) • Mais-que-Imperfeito (2001) • Closet Show (2003) • As Mentiras que os Homens Contam (2003) • No Retrovisor (2003) • Amo-te (2006) • A Noite Mais Fria do Ano (2011) • O Predador Entra na Sala (2012) • C'est La Vie (2014) • Amores Urbanos (2016)
Identity and overview
Identity and overview
The following is established of the heading itself.
Origins and background
Origins and background
On origins, the institutional record states the following. Born in 1959 at São Paulo. Recorded at birth as Marcelo Rubens Beyrodt Paiva.
Documentary record
Marcelo Rubens Paiva, a writer, journalist and dramaturge, was born in 1959 in São Paulo. The birth is recorded by the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Primary material
Documents and archives
scholarly publication
- A leitura sociológica da obra Feliz Ano Velho, de Marcelo Rubens Paiva, Literatura e Autoritarismo, 2005
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2005
reference work
- “Marcelo Rubens Paiva”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q2700188: Marcelo Rubens Paiva
General reference · Wikidata
Awards and nominations
• Year — Award — Category — Nominated work — Result — Refs • 2025 — Latino Entertainment Journalists’ Film Awards — Adapted Screenplay — I'm Still Here
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Marcelo Rubens Paiva, revision 1320988784 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
scholarly publication
A leitura sociológica da obra Feliz Ano Velho, de Marcelo Rubens Paiva, Literatura e Autoritarismo, 2005Crossref registry
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
People, houses and institutions
Knowledge graph
People, houses and institutions
Teachers, collaborators, publishers and institutions recorded against this person, each on a stated basis.
Studied at
2- University of CampinasOrganisation
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
- University of São PauloOrganisation
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
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This entry is compiled from 7 catalogued sources across 3 independent registers. The registers consulted are Crossref registry, Wikimedia Foundation and Wikipedia. Every statement above is held against the register that stated it; where the registers are silent, the entry is silent.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 20 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
39,529 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Marcello Palingenio StellatoAuthor
- Marcelo BirmajerAuthor
- Marcelo DédaAuthor
- Marcelo Duarte MatiasAuthor
- Marci Calabretta Cancio-BelloAuthor
- Marcia ClarkAuthor
- Marcia DavenportAuthor
- Marcia DouglasAuthor
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