Brazil's 60s movie star Norma Bengell dies in Rio

Criado em 09/10/13 12h05 e atualizado em 09/10/13 16h52
Por Vitor Abdala Edição:s Fonte:Agência Brasil

Rio de Janeiro – Brazilian movie icon Norma Bengell died early on Wednesday (October 9) from lung cancer complications. She was taken to hospital on Saturday (October 5) and died around 3 pm in her native Rio de Janeiro, at age 78.

Bengell was an actress, singer, composer, and film director. She made her film debut in 1959 with O Homem do Sputnik mimicking Brigitte Bardot. She also starred a major role in Anselmo Duarte's Keeper of Promises (also known as The Given Word), which won several international awards including the Golden Palm for best movie at the Cannes Festival in 1962, and earned an Academy Award nomination for best foreign language film in 1963.

Starring in films by key filmmakers of her time, Bengell was an icon of the Cinema Novo era – a new wave of young Brazilian filmmakers and intellectuals who worked on tight budgets and poor technical resources to compete with the powerful film industry in the early 1960s. Under the motto “a camera at hand, an idea in mind”, they introduced a new aesthetic for Brazilian cinema, with influences from the Italian Neorealism and the French New Wave (Nouvelle Vague).

Norma Benguell also starred in plays and television series. As a director, she is best known for Eternamente Pagu (1988) and O Guarani (1996).

Editors: Graça Adjuto / Nira Foster
Translator: Mayra Borges