Helena Ignez

Biography

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 …

Movies & TV Shows

1. The Red Light Bandit (1968) — Janete Jane
2. Embodiment of Evil (2008) — Cabíria
3. The Priest and the Girl (1966) — Mariana
4. Assault on the Pay Train (1962) — Marta
5. Copacabana Mon Amour (1970) — Sônia Silk
6. The Woman of Everyone (1969) — Ângela Carne e Osso
7. No way, Spider (1970)
8. O Pátio (1959) — The woman
9. The Sign of Chaos (2003) — Guida
10. Face to Face (1967) — Luciana
11. Hotel Atlântico (2009) — Dona da Pousada
12. Memoirs of a Strangler of Blondes (1971) — Multiple Characters (Archive Footage)
13. The Monsters of Babaloo (1970)
14. Flesh (2019) — (voice)
15. A Grande Feira (1961) — Ely
16. Glauber Rocha - The Movie, Brazil's Labyrinth (2003) — Self
17. Baron Olavo, The Horrible (1970) — Isabel
18. It's Not All True (1986)
19. Watch Out, Madame (1970)
20. Paixão e Virtude (2014)
21. Light in Darkness: The Return of Red Light Bandit (2012)
22. The Hullabaloo Family (1970) — Prostituta
23. Scent of Gardenias (1992) — Bandida
24. São Jerônimo (1999) — Marcela
25. Ralé: The Lower Depths (2016) — Sonia Silk
26. A Man and His Cage (1974) — Aeromoça
27. All Paulos in the World - Paulo José (2017)
28. The End of an Age (2014) — (voz)
29. Love Film Festival (2014) — Herself
30. The Long Voyage of the Yellow Bus (2023)
31. My Calendar Girl (2018) — Helena / Palestrante (voz)
32. The Mother (2022) — Dulce
33. A Balada do Provisório (2012) — Provisório's Mother
34. Meu Mundo em Perigo (2007) — Mãe de Ísis
35. Not Even God Is As Fair As Your Jeans (2025) — Dra. Marina Consiglio
36. A Miss e o Dinossauro (2005) — Herself (archive footage) / (Voz em Off)
37. Natureza Morta (2020) — Narradora 3
38. Ossos (2014) — Voz Off
39. Mulher Oceano (2020) — Mulher Caminhando de Costas (uncredited)
40. Antes do Fim (2018)

Directed

1. Light in Darkness: The Return of Red Light Bandit (2012) — Director
2. Ralé: The Lower Depths (2016) — Director
3. My Calendar Girl (2018) — Director
4. A Miss e o Dinossauro (2005) — Director
5. Ossos (2014) — Director
6. Canção de Baal (2007) — Director
7. Ugly, Me? (2013) — Director
8. Poder dos Afetos (2013) — Director
9. Joy Is the Acid Test (2023) — Director
10. Fakir (2019) — Director
11. Reinvenção da Rua (2003) — Director
12. Fogo Baixo, Alto Astral (2020) — Director