Today we’d like to introduce you to Helena Avila.
Hi Helena, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started as an Acting Student, in Portugal. Since I was a teenager I wanted to be an actress on stage and later on I discovered film as a passion. The people you encounter in life and the experiences you live, I believe they are meant to be, to take you where should go. Speacially in this business is all about the people you know and to whom they introduce you to. One film leads to the next one. One person presents you to another. And when things are not following as you expected is time to make a change. That’s what I did when I decided to temporarily stop acting on stage and moved to LA to start my film career.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s never smooth. We always need a bit of challenge in life, otherwise you start to get bored and stop appreciating what you have. Moving to a different country, from Portugal to the US, having to wait a year and a half for my Visa and just two months after I moved to LA and was starting to settle the COVID-19 Pandemic hit us all. Luckily I was able to continue to work remotely on my side job and the industry community really came along and all the fuss about self tapes got me going in my craft. Later on another challenge was when I got pregnant and started to loose gigs, that was quite revolting I found no empathy, it was just easier for the production to follow with someone else other then adjusting to the situation (believe me it was possible, there is something called close up plan… anyway)
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As an actress and a mom, my proudest moment was in I was able to combine both sides of my world. When my first child was born I did the first Table Read the day after giving birth on a video call when I was still in the Hospital and just 15 days after that my little baby girl was with me on set (over dad’s watch backstage).
My baby girl was born with a spontaneous genetic mutation called achondroplasia (aka dwarfism) and I gathered efforts, team and money to produce a film following the story of an individual with the same health condition. The main goal was to present to the main audience that having achondroplasia doesn’t get you from doing and being whatever you want to be and do in your life. I am very proud of the movie and I was able to act in it aswell. I did it for me and for my daughter. The film will premier next year and is coming up really beautiful.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Believe in myself and owning it. Know that I am enough. I don’t give up, I don’t follow, I don’t hear what others say or may think about my path.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.avilahelena.com
- Instagram: @avila_helena
- Facebook: Helena Avila – actress
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@helenaavila993
Image Credits
Filipe Ferreira
Paulo Macedo
