Person
Helena Ignez
Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
Helena Ignez (Salvador, May 23, 1939) is a Brazilian actress and filmmaker. Helena was born in Salvador, Bahia and was attending her second year of law school when she fell in lo…
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Helena Ignez (Salvador, May 23, 1939) is a Brazilian actress and filmmaker. Helena was born in Salvador, Bahia and was attending her second year of law school when she fell in love with theater and decided to study the Dramatic Arts at the Federal University of Bahia. At the time, the Bahian theater scene was breaking with traditional Brazilian theater and experiencing strong influence from the young vanguard. She first appeared on the screen in Glauber Rocha's short film "Pátio". Helena acted in a few films associated with the Cinema Novo movement, such as "A Grande Feira" (1961), "Assalto ao Trem Pagador" (1962), and "O Padre e a Moça" (1966) before playing Janete Jane in O Bandido da Luz Vermelha by Rogério Sganzerla. After this film, she would perform in some most significant films in the Cinema Marginal movement, which directly opposed the critically acclaimed Cinema Novo -- the most remarkable being her role as Ângela Carne e "Osso in A Mulher de Todos" (1969). She also was a financial partner of Rogério Sganzerla and fellow Cinema Marginal filmmaker Júlio Bressane in the short-lived, although prolific, Belair production company. Between 1968 and 1970, Sganzerla and Ignez made almost a dozen films together and were also married and had two children -- one of which would become actress Djin Sganzerla. As a filmmaker, Ignez has directed 7 films, the most notable being "Luz das Trevas" (2010), a sequel to Sganzerla's debut feature "O Bandido da Luz Vermelha" (1968).
Filmography
Movies and shows, newest first
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2026
Nem Tudo é Paz e Amor
Movie Self
-
2026
Pioneiras do Cinema
Movie
-
2026
América do Sol
Movie Sonia Silk
-
2026
A Film to Remind Us of Utopia
Movie Self (archive footage)
-
2026
Jardim dos Silêncios
Movie
-
2026
Eclipse
Movie Dona da Kitnet
- 2026
-
2026
Cartas Para Rian
Movie Nair de Tefé
-
2026
As Florestas da Noite
Movie
-
2026
Helena! Cinema!
Movie
- 2025
-
2025
Nosferatu
Movie
-
2025
Gravidade
Movie
-
2025
Message from Sergipe
Movie
-
2025
Trópico de Leão
Movie Medéia
-
2025
Not Even God Is As Fair As Your Jeans
Movie Dra. Marina Consiglio
More credits
-
2025
Deuses da Peste
Movie
-
2024
A Última Vanguarda
Movie Self
-
2024
If I'm Here It Is by Mystery
Movie Arlete
-
2023
Nelson Carneiro: Knight of Democracy
Movie Self
-
2023
Helena de Guaratiba
Movie Helena
- 2023
- 2023
-
2023
Joy Is the Acid Test
Movie Jarda Ícone
-
2022
The Mother
Movie Dulce
-
2022
The Welles Raft
Movie Herself
-
2021
Nova Pasta, Antigo Baú
Movie Voiceover
-
2021
Um Documentário Brasileiro
Movie Self
-
2021
The Good Cinema
Movie
-
2021
Subterrânea
Movie Senhora Ônibus
-
2020
Benjamim Zambraia e o Autopanóptico
Movie Mother
-
2020
Candango: Memoirs from a Festival
Movie Self
-
2020
Mulher Oceano
Movie Mulher Caminhando de Costas (uncredited)
-
2020
Race Antenna
Movie Self
- 2020
- 2020
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2020
Fogo Baixo, Alto Astral
Movie
-
2020
Natureza Morta
Movie Narradora 3
-
2020
Ensaio Sobre o Fracasso
Movie
-
2020
Rio de Topless
Movie Self
