We are delighted with this new award to honour women's achievement at Portuguese cinema.
The Academia Portuguesa de Cinema (Portuguese Cinema Academy) has chosen Leonor Silveira to receive the first Bárbara Virginia Award. This award was instigated in 2015 to honour a female figure from Portuguese cinema that has distinguished herself through her work. The prize will be awarded to Leonor Silveira by Barbara Freitas, the daughter of Barbara Virginia, who lives in Brazil.
The jury made up of Beatriz Batarda (actress), Cândida Vieira (executive producer), Carmo Moser (producer), Patricia Vasconcelos (director of casting) and Sano Perpessac (characters), unanimously chose Leonor Silveira to receive this first honour and have referred to her as "a unique and singular actress, in Portugal and in the World."
The Barbara Virginia trophy was designed by the painter and sculptor Leonel Moura, symbolizing the figure of a woman prepared to overcome challenges.
During the ceremony the Academia Portuguesa de Cinema and Cinemateca Portuguesa will promote an exhibition on the life and work of Barbara Virginia. It will also share “work in progress” from the movie “Quem é Barbara Virgínia?” (Who is Barbara Virginia?) directed by Luisa Sequeira, and excerpts from the film “Três Dias Sem Deus” (Three Days Without God) by Barbara Virginia.
