Acting · Salvador, Bahia, Brazil · Born May 23, 1939
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).
MovieA Film to Remind Us of Utopia
2026
as Self (archive footage)
MovieEclipse
2026
as Dona da Kitnet
MovieCartas Para Rian
2026
as Nair de Tefé
MovieHelena! Cinema!
2026
TVPrimavera nos Dentes – A História do Secos & Molhados
2025
as Self
MovieNosferatu
2025
MovieGravidade
2025
MovieMessage from Sergipe
2025
MovieTrópico de Leão
2025
as Medéia
MovieNot Even God Is As Fair As Your Jeans
2025
as Dra. Marina Consiglio
MovieDeuses da Peste
2025
MovieA Última Vanguarda
2024
as Self
MovieIf I'm Here It Is by Mystery
2024
as Arlete
MovieNelson Carneiro: Knight of Democracy
2023
as Self
MovieHelena de Guaratiba
2023
as Helena
MovieO Mel é Mais Doce Que o Sangue
2023
MovieThe Long Voyage of the Yellow Bus
2023
MovieJoy Is the Acid Test
2023
as Jarda Ícone
MovieThe Mother
2022
as Dulce
MovieThe Welles Raft
2022
as Herself
MovieNova Pasta, Antigo Baú
2021
as Voiceover
MovieUm Documentário Brasileiro
2021
as Self
MovieThe Good Cinema
2021
MovieSubterrânea
2021
as Senhora Ônibus
MovieBenjamim Zambraia e o Autopanóptico
2020
as Mother
MovieCandango: Memoirs from a Festival
2020
as Self
MovieMulher Oceano
2020
as Mulher Caminhando de Costas (uncredited)
MovieRace Antenna
2020
as Self
MovieThe Lady Who Died in the Trailer
2020
MovieEsse fim de semana vou me dedicar as paredes
2020
MovieFogo Baixo, Alto Astral
2020
MovieEnsaio Sobre o Fracasso
2020
MovieNatureza Morta
2020
as Narradora 3
MovieRio de Topless
2020
as Self
MovieExtracts
2019
MovieNotícias do Fim do Mundo
2019
MovieFlesh
2019
as (voice)
MovieFakir
2019
as Narrator
MovieIn Memoriam: O Roteiro do Gravador
2019
MovieA Mulher da Luz Própria
2019
as Self
MovieMemórias do Grupo Opinião
2019
as Self (archive footage)
MovieBring me the Head of Carmen M.
2019
as Diretora
MovieMy Calendar Girl
2018
as Helena / Palestrante (voz)
MovieO Desmonte do Monte
2018
MovieAntes do Fim
2018
MovieInaudito
2017
as Voice
MovieAll Paulos in the World - Paulo José
2017
MovieFebre
2017
MovieBrazilian Cinema in the 20th Century
2017
as Self
MovieVenus – Filly the Lesbian Little Fairy
2017
as Narração
O Cinema Foi à Feira
2016
as Ela mesma
MovieRalé: The Lower Depths
2016
as Sonia Silk
MovieLove Film Festival
2014
as Herself
MovieThe End of an Age
2014
as (voz)
MovieEstátua!
2014
as Mãe (voz)
MoviePaixão e Virtude
2014
MovieCopacabana, Mon Amour: A Restauração
2014
as Self
MovieOssos
2014
as Voz Off
MovieDesculpa, Dona Madama
2013
as Patroa
MovieUgly, Me?
2013
as Jarda
MoviePoder dos Afetos
2013
as Ritual Xamânico
MovieTerno
2013
as Mãe
Sinais de Cinza, A Peleja de Olney Contra o Dragão da Maldade
2013
A Balada do Provisório
2012
as Provisório's Mother
MovieMr. Sganzerla: Os Signos da Luz
2012
MovieLight in Darkness: The Return of Red Light Bandit
2012
MovieAvacalha e se Esculhamba
2010
MovieHotel Atlântico
2009
as Dona da Pousada
MovieBelair
2009
MovieA Vermelha Luz do Bandido
2009
MovieEmbodiment of Evil
2008
as Cabíria
MovieA Bela P...
2008
MovieMeu Mundo em Perigo
2007
as Mãe de Ísis
Helena Zero
2006
MovieLuz-Lux-Lúcia
2005
MovieA Miss e o Dinossauro
2005
as Herself (archive footage) / (Voz em Off)
MovieRetrato da Terra
2004
as Ela mesma
MovieThe Sign of Chaos
2003
as Guida
MovieGlauber Rocha - The Movie, Brazil's Labyrinth
2003
as Self
MovieAbry
2003
as Self
MovieReinvenção da Rua
2003
as Herself
MovieB2
2001
MovieSão Jerônimo
1999
as Marcela
MovieCelebração - 100 Anos do Cinema Nacional
1997
as Self
MovieFlying Geraldo
1994
MovieScent of Gardenias
1992
as Bandida
TVTereza Batista
1992
as Maricota
MovieOswaldianas
1992
MoviePerigo Negro
1992
as Tiafa
MovieAnônimo e incomum
1990
MovieIt's Not All True
1986
MovieSpray Jet
1986
as Bossy Lady
MovieMulheres de Cinema
1978
as Self (archive footage)
MovieA Man and His Cage
1974
as Aeromoça
MovieUm Intruso no Paraíso
1973
MovieMemoirs of a Strangler of Blondes
1971
as Multiple Characters (Archive Footage)
MovieBaron Olavo, The Horrible
1970
as Isabel
MovieThe Hullabaloo Family
1970
as Prostituta
MovieNo Way, Spider
1970
Carnaval na Lama
1970
MovieCopacabana Mon Amour
1970
as Sônia Silk
MovieWatch Out, Madame
1970
MovieThe Monsters of Babaloo
1970
MovieThe Woman of Everyone
1969
as Ângela Carne e Osso
TVEra Preciso Voltar
1969
as Regina
MovieThe Red Light Bandit
1968
as Janete Jane
MovieThe Outsiders
1968
MovieFace to Face
1967
as Luciana
MovieO Engano
1967
as Mulher do médico
MovieThe Priest and the Girl
1966
as Mariana
MovieGrito da Terra
1964
as Mariá
MovieAssault on the Pay Train
1962
as Marta
MovieA Grande Feira
1961
as Ely
MovieO Pátio
1959
as The woman
Flesh
MovieLost Media
as A Colecionadora
