Introduction
Helena Ignez (born May 23, 1942) is a Brazilian actress and filmmaker who participated in the Cinema Marginal movement during the 1960s and 70s alongside Rogério Sganzerla and Glauber Rocha.
Biography
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 film Pátio.
Cinema Marginal
Helena acted in a few more films, such as A Grande Feira (1961), Assalto ao Trem Pagador (1962) e 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, the most noted being her role as Ângela Carne e Osso in A Mulher de Todos (1969). She also was a financial partner in Rogério Sganzerla and Júlio Bressane Belair production company. Between 1968 and 1970, Sganzerla and Ignez made almost a dozen films together and were also married and had two children. In 1972 she took a turn in her career and decided to film in Europe, the United States and Africa, making an untitled super-8 film.
Filmography
On cinema
Acting
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1959 | O Pátio | Jovem no Pátio |
| 1961 | A Grande Feira | Ely |
| 1962 | O Assalto ao Trem Pagador | Marta |
| 1964 | O Grito da Terra | |
| 1965 | O Padre e a Moça | Mariana |
| 1967 | Cara a Cara | Luciana |
| 1968 | O Bandido da Luz Vermelha | Janete Jane |
| O Engano | Esposa do Doutor | |
| Os Marginais | ||
| 1969 | A Mulher de Todos | Ângela Carne e Osso |
| Um Homem e Sua Jaula | Aeromoça | |
| 1970 | A Família do Barulho | |
| Barão Olavo, o Horrível | Isabel | |
| Copacabana Mon Amour | Sônia Silk | |
| Cuidado Madame | Empregada | |
| Sem Essa, Aranha | Mulher | |
| Carnaval na Lama | Betty | |
| 1971 | Os Monstros de Babaloo | |
| 1973 | Um Intruso no Paraíso | |
| 1985 | Nem Tudo É Verdade | |
| 1992 | Oswaldianas | |
| Perfume de Gardênia | Burglar | |
| 1993 | Perigo Negro | |
| 1999 | São Jerônimo | Marcela |
| 2005 | O Signo do Caos | Guida |
| 2007 | Meu Mundo em Perigo | |
| Jurando que Viu a Periquita | Rainha da Amazônia | |
| 2008 | Encarnação do Demônio | Cabíria |
| A Bela P... | Narradora | |
| 2009 | Hotel Atlântico | Dona da Pousada |
| 2012 | Jetlag | Mãe |
| A Balada do Provisório | ||
| 2013 | Desculpa, Dona Madama | |
| 2014 | Paixão e Virtude | Gustave Flaubert |
| 2016 | Xavier | Professora |
Directing
| Films | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | |||
| 2005 | A Miss e o Dinossauro | |||
| 2007 | Canção de Baal | |||
| 2010 | Luz nas Trevas: A Volta do Bandido da Luz Vermelha | |||
| 2013 | Feio, eu? | |||
| Poder dos afetos | ||||
| 2016 | Ralé | |||
On television
| Novelas, Seriados e Minisséries | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | ||
| 1997 | Você Decide | N/A | ||
| 1992 | Tereza Batista | Maricota | ||
| 1991 | Meu Marido | Promotora | ||
| 1968 | A Última Testemunha | Mina | ||
On stage
- 1969 – Hair'