Héctor Babenco facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Héctor Babenco
Babenco in São Paulo, Brazil (2008)
Born	Héctor Eduardo Babenco (1946-02-07)February 7, 1946 Buenos Aires, Argentina
Died	July 13, 2016(2016-07-13) (aged 70) São Paulo, Brazil
Nationality	Brazilian
Occupation	Film director and producer, screenwriter
Years active	1973–2015
Notable work	Pixote Kiss of the Spider Woman Ironweed At Play in the Fields of the Lord Carandiru

Héctor Eduardo Babenco (born February 7, 1946 – died July 13, 2016) was a famous Argentine-Brazilian film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. He worked in many countries, including Brazil, Argentina, and the United States.

Babenco was one of the first Brazilian filmmakers to become well-known around the world. His movies often showed the lives of people who were not part of mainstream society. Some of his most famous films include Pixote (1980), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), and Carandiru (2003).

Who Was Héctor Babenco?

Héctor Babenco was a talented filmmaker who won many awards for his work. He was nominated three times for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. This is a very important award in the film world.

He was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for his movie Kiss of the Spider Woman. In Brazil, he won the Grande Prêmio do Cinema Brasileiro twice.

Early Life and Moving to Brazil

Héctor Babenco was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He grew up in a city called Mar del Plata. His mother, Janka Haberberg, was from Poland. His father, Jaime Babenco, was an Argentine gaucho (a type of cowboy) from a Ukrainian Jewish family.

From 1964 to 1968, Babenco lived in Europe. In 1969, he decided to move to São Paulo, Brazil, and live there permanently.

Starting His Film Career

Héctor Babenco's first full-length movie as a director was O Rei da Noite (which means King of the Night). This film came out in 1975. It starred well-known Brazilian actors Paulo José and Marília Pêra.

Making Famous Movies

Babenco became very successful around the world with his film Pixote – A lei do mais fraco (1981). This movie tells the story of children who are abandoned in Brazil.

Pixote and Its Impact

The movie Pixote showed the amazing acting of a young boy named Fernando Ramos da Silva. He was only 10 years old when he was found in the suburbs of São Paulo. Pixote won many awards. It was even nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 1982 Golden Globes Awards.

Kiss of the Spider Woman and Oscar Nomination

In 1985, Babenco directed Kiss of the Spider Woman. For this film, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director. He was the first director from Latin America to receive this nomination.

Working with Hollywood Stars

Héctor Babenco directed some of the most respected American actors of his time. These included William Hurt, John Lithgow, Raul Julia, Jack Nicholson, and Meryl Streep. He also worked with Tom Berenger, Daryl Hannah, Aidan Quinn, and Kathy Bates.

His Last Film

In 2012, Babenco was a judge at the 34th Moscow International Film Festival. His very last film was My Hindu Friend, which came out in 2016. This movie starred Willem Dafoe. It tells the story of a film director who is very close to death.

Personal Life

In 2010, Héctor Babenco married actress Bárbara Paz. He had two daughters from earlier marriages, Janka Babenco and Myra Arnaud Babenco. He also had two grandchildren.

Health and Passing Away

In 1994, Babenco became very ill. He had to have a bone marrow transplant to treat a type of lymphatic cancer. He had been diagnosed with this cancer when he was 38 years old.

On July 12, 2016, Babenco went to the hospital for a sinusitis infection. The next night, he had a cardiac arrest (his heart stopped) and passed away shortly after.

Films by Héctor Babenco

Here is a list of the movies and TV shows Héctor Babenco worked on:

Feature Films

Year	Original title	English release title	Functioned as			Country	Notes
			Director	Writer	Producer
1975	O Rei da Noite	King of the Night	Yes	Yes	Yes	Brazil	First film he directed Co-writer with Orlando Senna
1977	Lúcio Flávio: O Passageiro da Agonia	Lúcio Flávio	Yes	Yes	No		Co-writer with José Louzeiro & Jorge Durán
1980	Pixote: A Lei do Mais Fraco	Pixote	Yes	Yes	Yes		Co-writer with Jorge Durán
1985	Kiss of the Spider Woman		Yes	No	No	Brazil  United States
1987	Ironweed		Yes	No	No	United States
1991	At Play in the Fields of the Lord		Yes	Yes	No	Brazil  United States	Co-writer with Jean-Claude Carrière & Vincent Patrick
1998	Corazón Iluminado	Foolish Heart	Yes	Yes	Yes	Brazil  Argentina  France	Co-writer with Ricardo Piglia
2003	Carandiru		Yes	Yes	Yes	Brazil  Argentina  Italy	Co-writer with Fernando Bonassi & Victor Navas
2007	El Pasado	The Past	Yes	Yes	Yes	Brazil  Argentina	Co-writer with Marta Goes
2014	Words with Gods		Yes	Yes	No	Mexico  United States	Segment: "The Man That Stole a Duck"
2015	Meu Amigo Hindu	My Hindu Friend	Yes	Yes	Yes	Brazil

Documentaries

Year	Original title	English release title	Functioned as			Country	Notes
			Director	Writer	Producer
1973	O Fabuloso Fittipaldi	-	Yes	Yes	Yes	Brazil	Co-directed with Roberto Farias
1984	A Terra É Redonda como Uma Laranja	-	Yes	No	No	Brazil  Argentina

Television Work

Year	Original title	English release title	Functioned as			Country	Notes
			Director	Writer	Producer
2005	Carandiru: Outras Histórias	-	Yes	Yes	Yes	Brazil	Episodes: "Love Story I" & "Love Story II"

Acting Roles

Year	Original title	English release title	Role	Director	Country	Notes
1999	The Venice Project		Danilo Danuzzi	Robert Dornhelm	United States
2000	Before Night Falls		Virgilio Piñera	Julian Schnabel
2007	El Pasado	The Past	Projectionist	Himself	Brazil  Argentina	Cameo

Awards and Recognition

To see a full list of awards and nominations Héctor Babenco received, check out:

See Also

In Spanish: Héctor Babenco para niños