RITA BLANCO

ACTRESS – PRESIDENT OF THE JURY

Portuguese actress with experience in theater, television and cinema, Rita Blanco was born on January 11, 1963, in Lisbon. She attended the National Conservatory course for actors. She made his cinema debut when she participated in Le Cercle des Passions, by Claude D’Anna, in 1982, with Max Von Sidow, and Ninguém Duas Vezes, by Jorge Silva Melo. Two years later, she worked with Manoel de Oliveira, with whom she filmed Le Soulier de Satin. In 1987, began a long collaboration with filmmaker João Canijo when she participated in the film Três Menos Eu. This interpretation earned her the selection for the Les Stars de Demain Festival (Young Hopes of European Cinema).

The debut in theater had already happened in 1983, with the play Mariana Espera Casamento, staged by Luís Miguel Cintra. But it was through television that Rita Blanco became known to the general public. Her participation in films such as Gaiola Dourada, Os Maias, or Sangue do meu Sangue awarded her Golden Globes in the category of best actress, Áquila Awards, in the category of best supporting actress and, Prize Authors. In 2016 she was awarded the Rank Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters of France. More recently she has participated in films like Cargo or Fátima and has given voice to characters such as Dory (Finding Dory) or Lucy (Despicable Me 3).