Eclipse
2026 · Movie
as Dona da Kitnet
Helena Ignez
1939-05-23
•
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 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
A Film to Remind Us of Utopia
2026 · Movie
as Self (archive footage)
Helena! Cinema!
2026 · Movie
Cartas Para Rian
2026 · Movie
as Nair de Tefé
Pioneiras do Cinema
2026 · Movie
As Florestas da Noite
2026 · Movie
Not Even God Is As Fair As Your Jeans
2025 · Movie
as Dra. Marina Consiglio
Trópico de Leão
2025 · Movie
as Medéia
Deuses da Peste
2025 · Movie
Gravidade
2025 · Movie
Message from Sergipe
2025 · Movie
Nosferatu
2025 · Movie
Primavera nos Dentes – A História do Secos & Molhados
2025 · TV Show
as Self
A Última Vanguarda
2024 · Movie
as Self
If I'm Here It Is by Mystery
2024 · Movie
as Arlete
Joy Is the Acid Test
2023 · Movie
as Jarda Ícone
O Mel é Mais Doce Que o Sangue
2023 · Movie
Helena de Guaratiba
2023 · Movie
as Helena
Nelson Carneiro: Knight of Democracy
2023 · Movie
as Self
The Long Voyage of the Yellow Bus
2023 · Movie
The Mother
2022 · Movie
as Dulce
The Welles Raft
2022 · Movie
as Herself
The Good Cinema
2021 · Movie
Subterrânea
2021 · Movie
as Senhora Ônibus
Um Documentário Brasileiro
2021 · Movie
as Self
Nova Pasta, Antigo Baú
2021 · Movie
as Voiceover
Rio de Topless
2020 · Movie
as Self
Ensaio Sobre o Fracasso
2020 · Movie
Natureza Morta
2020 · Movie
as Narradora 3
Esse fim de semana vou me dedicar as paredes
2020 · Movie
Fogo Baixo, Alto Astral
2020 · Movie
Race Antenna
2020 · Movie
as Self
Candango: Memoirs from a Festival
2020 · Movie
as Self
Mulher Oceano
2020 · Movie
as Mulher Caminhando de Costas (uncredited)
The Lady Who Died in the Trailer
2020 · Movie
Benjamim Zambraia e o Autopanóptico
2020 · Movie
as Mother
Memórias do Grupo Opinião
2019 · Movie
as Self (archive footage)
A Mulher da Luz Própria
2019 · Movie
as Self
Flesh
2019 · Movie
as (voice)
Extracts
2019 · Movie
Bring me the Head of Carmen M.
2019 · Movie
as Diretora
In Memoriam: O Roteiro do Gravador
2019 · Movie
Fakir
2019 · Movie
as Narrator
Notícias do Fim do Mundo
2019 · Movie
Antes do Fim
2018 · Movie
My Calendar Girl
2018 · Movie
as Helena / Palestrante (voz)
O Desmonte do Monte
2018 · Movie
Febre
2017 · Movie
All Paulos in the World - Paulo José
2017 · Movie
Venus – Filly the Lesbian Little Fairy
2017 · Movie
as Narração
Brazilian Cinema in the 20th Century
2017 · Movie
as Self
Inaudito
2017 · Movie
as Voice
Ralé: The Lower Depths
2016 · Movie
as Sonia Silk
No image
O Cinema Foi à Feira
2016 · Movie
as Ela mesma
The End of an Age
2014 · Movie
as (voz)
Paixão e Virtude
2014 · Movie
Love Film Festival
2014 · Movie
as Herself
Copacabana, Mon Amour: A Restauração
2014 · Movie
as Self
Estátua!
2014 · Movie
as Mãe (voz)
Ossos
2014 · Movie
as Voz Off
No image
Sinais de Cinza, A Peleja de Olney Contra o Dragão da Maldade
2013 · Movie
Terno
2013 · Movie
as Mãe
Poder dos Afetos
2013 · Movie
as Ritual Xamânico
Desculpa, Dona Madama
2013 · Movie
as Patroa
Ugly, Me?
2013 · Movie
as Jarda
No image
A Balada do Provisório
2012 · Movie
as Provisório's Mother
Mr. Sganzerla: Os Signos da Luz
2012 · Movie
Light in Darkness: The Return of Red Light Bandit
2012 · Movie
Avacalha e se Esculhamba
2010 · Movie
Hotel Atlântico
2009 · Movie
as Dona da Pousada
A Vermelha Luz do Bandido
2009 · Movie
Belair
2009 · Movie
Embodiment of Evil
2008 · Movie
as Cabíria
A Bela P...
2008 · Movie
Meu Mundo em Perigo
2007 · Movie
as Mãe de Ísis
No image
Helena Zero
2006 · Movie
Luz-Lux-Lúcia
2005 · Movie
A Miss e o Dinossauro
2005 · Movie
as Herself (archive footage) / (Voz em Off)
Retrato da Terra
2004 · Movie
as Ela mesma
The Sign of Chaos
2003 · Movie
as Guida
Glauber Rocha - The Movie, Brazil's Labyrinth
2003 · Movie
as Self
Abry
2003 · Movie
as Self
Reinvenção da Rua
2003 · Movie
as Herself
B2
2001 · Movie
São Jerônimo
1999 · Movie
as Marcela
Celebração - 100 Anos do Cinema Nacional
1997 · Movie
as Self
Flying Geraldo
1994 · Movie
Oswaldianas
1992 · Movie
Scent of Gardenias
1992 · Movie
as Bandida
Perigo Negro
1992 · Movie
as Tiafa
Tereza Batista
1992 · TV Show
as Maricota
Anônimo e incomum
1990 · Movie
It's Not All True
1986 · Movie
Spray Jet
1986 · Movie
as Bossy Lady
Mulheres de Cinema
1978 · Movie
as Self (archive footage)
A Man and His Cage
1974 · Movie
as Aeromoça
Um Intruso no Paraíso
1973 · Movie
Memoirs of a Strangler of Blondes
1971 · Movie
as Multiple Characters (Archive Footage)
The Hullabaloo Family
1970 · Movie
as Prostituta
Copacabana Mon Amour
1970 · Movie
as Sônia Silk
No way, Spider
1970 · Movie
Baron Olavo, The Horrible
1970 · Movie
as Isabel
Watch Out, Madame
1970 · Movie
No image
Carnaval na Lama
1970 · Movie
The Monsters of Babaloo
1970 · Movie
The Woman of Everyone
1969 · Movie
as Ângela Carne e Osso
Era Preciso Voltar
1969 · TV Show
as Regina
The Red Light Bandit
1968 · Movie
as Janete Jane
The Outsiders
1968 · Movie
Face to Face
1967 · Movie
as Luciana
O Engano
1967 · Movie
as Mulher do médico
The Priest and the Girl
1966 · Movie
as Mariana
Grito da Terra
1964 · Movie
as Mariá
Assault on the Pay Train
1962 · Movie
as Marta
A Grande Feira
1961 · Movie
as Ely
O Pátio
1959 · Movie
as The woman
No image
Flesh
· Movie
Lost Media
· Movie
as A Colecionadora
Crew Credits
Joy Is the Acid Test
2023 · Movie
Director, Executive Producer, Screenplay
Fogo Baixo, Alto Astral
2020 · Movie
Director
Fakir
2019 · Movie
Director, Screenplay, Art Direction, Musical Casting
My Calendar Girl
2018 · Movie
Director, Screenplay
Ralé: The Lower Depths
2016 · Movie
Director, Producer, Writer
Ossos
2014 · Movie
Screenplay, Screenstory, Director, Music, Producer
Ugly, Me?
2013 · Movie
Director, Writer, Executive Producer, Associate Producer
Poder dos Afetos
2013 · Movie
Director, Screenplay, Executive Producer, Screenstory
Light in Darkness: The Return of Red Light Bandit
2012 · Movie
Director, Adaptation, Writer
Canção de Baal
2007 · Movie
Director, Screenplay
A Miss e o Dinossauro
2005 · Movie
Director, Music Supervisor, Camera Operator, Researcher
Reinvenção da Rua
2003 · Movie
Director
América: O Grande Acerto de Vespúcio
1992 · Movie
Editor
O Pátio
1959 · Movie
Co-Producer
