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