Helena Ignez
Acting
Born: May 23, 1939 (age 87) · Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
Highest Rated
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 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).
Photos (5)
Movies (90)
Inauditoo
Voice
The Red Light Bandit
Janete Jane
Bring me the Head of Carmen M.
Diretora
Hotel Atlântico
Dona da Pousada
The Monsters of Babaloo
1970
Assault on the Pay Train
Marta
Nosferatu
2025
Embodiment of Evil
Cabíria
Face to Face
Luciana
Helena! Cinema!
2026
O Mel é Mais Doce Que o Sangue
2023
As Florestas da Noite
2026
Copacabana Mon Amour
Sônia Silk
The Woman of Everyone
Ângela Carne e Osso
The Priest and the Girl
Mariana
Estátua!
Mãe (voz)
Eclipse
Dona da Kitnet
Ugly, Me?
Jarda
Fakir
Narrator
Memoirs of a Strangler of Blondes
Multiple Characters (Archive Footage)
Ralé: The Lower Depths
Sonia Silk
The Rowdy Family
Prostituta
Meu Mundo em Perigo
Mãe de Ísis
Subterrânea
Senhora Ônibus
All Paulos in the World - Paulo José
2017
It's Not All True
1986
Benjamim Zambraia e o Autopanóptico
Mother
O Engano
Mulher do médico
The Good Cinema
2021
If I'm Here It Is by Mystery
Arlete
Oswaldianas
1992
Not Even God Is As Fair As Your Jeans
Dra. Marina Consiglio
Um Intruso no Paraíso
1973
The Long Voyage of the Yellow Bus
2023
A Vermelha Luz do Bandido
2009
Ensaio Sobre o Fracasso
2020
Scent of Gardenias
Bandida
Antes do Fim
2018
Baron Olavo, The Horrible
Isabel
Mulher Oceano
Mulher Caminhando de Costas (uncredited)
Mr. Sganzerla: Os Signos da Luz
2012
The Lady Who Died in the Trailer
2020
Belair
2009
My Calendar Girl
Helena / Palestrante (voz)
Light in Darkness: The Return of Red Light Bandit
2012
Extracts
2019
Garden of Silences
2026
Notícias do Fim do Mundo
2019
The Sign of Chaos
Guida
A Man and His Cage
Aeromoça
Joy Is the Acid Test
Jarda Ícone
Luz-Lux-Lúcia
2005
O Desmonte do Monte
2018
O Pátio
The woman
Nova Pasta, Antigo Baú
Voiceover
Febre
2017
Venus – Filly the Lesbian Little Fairy
Narração
The End of an Age
(voz)
Fogo Baixo, Alto Astral
2020
No Way, Spider
1970
Cartas Para Rian
Nair de Tefé
Paixão e Virtude
2014
A Grande Feira
Ely
Pioneiras do Cinema
2026
Watch Out, Madame
Empregada
Helena de Guaratiba
Helena
The Mother
Dulce
Avacalha e se Esculhamba
2010
Grito da Terra
Mariá
In Memoriam: O Roteiro do Gravador
2019
América do Sol
Sonia Silk
Gravidade
2025
Message from Sergipe
2025
Poder dos Afetos
Ritual Xamânico
São Jerônimo
Marcela
Esse fim de semana vou me dedicar as paredes
2020
The Outsiders
1968
Natureza Morta
Narradora 3
Anônimo e incomum
1990
Flesh
(voice)
Terno
Mãe
Trópico de Leão
Medéia
Deuses da Peste
2025
A Bela P...
2008
B2
2001
Spray Jet
Bossy Lady
Flying Geraldo
1994
Perigo Negro
Tiafa
Desculpa, Dona Madama
Patroa
Ossos
Voz Off
TV Shows (2)
Self / Appearances (24)
O País do Cinema
Self · 1 eps
Brazilian Cinema in the 20th Century
Self
Candango: Memoirs from a Festival
Self
Celebração - 100 Anos do Cinema Nacional
Self
Memórias do Grupo Opinião
Self (archive footage)
A Film to Remind Us of Utopia
Self (archive footage)
Primavera nos Dentes – A História do Secos & Molhados
Self · 1 eps
Fernando Coni Campos: Cada um Vive como Sonha
Self
The Welles Raft
Herself
Nem Tudo é Paz e Amor
Self
Glauber Rocha - The Movie, Brazil's Labyrinth
Self
A Miss e o Dinossauro
Herself (archive footage) / (Voz em Off)
Copacabana, Mon Amour: A Restauração
Self
Rio de Topless
Self
Abry
Self
Nelson Carneiro: Knight of Democracy
Self
Mulheres de Cinema
Self (archive footage)
Love Film Festival
Herself
A Última Vanguarda
Self
Race Antenna
Self
A Mulher da Luz Própria
Self
Retrato da Terra
Self
Um Documentário Brasileiro
Self
Reinvenção da Rua
Herself
Upcoming (1)
Directing (12)
Ugly, Me?
Director
Fakir
Director
Ralé: The Lower Depths
Director
A Miss e o Dinossauro
Director
My Calendar Girl
Director
Light in Darkness: The Return of Red Light Bandit
Director
Joy Is the Acid Test
Director
Canção de Baal
Director
Fogo Baixo, Alto Astral
Director
Poder dos Afetos
Director
Reinvenção da Rua
Director
Ossos
Director
Writing (12)
Ugly, Me?
Writer
Fakir
Screenplay
Ralé: The Lower Depths
Writer
My Calendar Girl
Screenplay
Light in Darkness: The Return of Red Light Bandit
Adaptation
Light in Darkness: The Return of Red Light Bandit
Writer
Joy Is the Acid Test
Screenplay
Canção de Baal
Screenplay
Poder dos Afetos
Screenstory
Poder dos Afetos
Screenplay
Ossos
Screenplay
Ossos
Screenstory
Producing (9)
Ugly, Me?
Executive Producer
Ugly, Me?
Associate Producer
Fakir
Musical Casting
Ralé: The Lower Depths
Producer
A Miss e o Dinossauro
Researcher
Joy Is the Acid Test
Executive Producer
O Pátio
Co-Producer
Poder dos Afetos
Executive Producer
Ossos
Producer
