Abril de Helena

Duration: 20’

Directors: Maria Moreira & Victor Hugooli

Country: Portugal

Abril de Helena by Maria Moreira & Victor Hugooli | PRT | 20’

In a new daily life, April, a trans woman, chooses Helena as her primary caregiver for facial feminization surgery. In maternal gestures, Helena cares for April with the same look she had when her daughter was little.

 

Maria Moreira & Victor Hugooli

 

Maria Moreira is a film director and producer. She holds a degree in Cinema and Audiovisual from ESAP, graduated with distinction. She began her career producing short films that were shown and awarded at national and international festivals, collaborating with directors such as João Monteiro and Tânia Gomes Teixeira. She pursued further studies in the Master's in Cinema at the School of Arts of UCP, where she directed the documentary short Sónia (2022), which premiered at IndieLisboa and was distinguished at several festivals.
In parallel, she has been developing work in production and programming, collaborating with Curtas Vila do Conde and Porto/Post/Doc, where she also created audience mediation initiatives and film education programmes.

 

 

 

Victor Hugooli is a self-taught Luso-Brazilian filmmaker who has distinguished himself through consistent work in the audiovisual field, with a growing interest in processes guided by listening, an ethics of care, and responsibility for what images produce. He has directed three short films: Ensaio da Loucura (2024), his debut in cinema; Abril de Helena (2026), a documentary co-directed with Maria Moreira; and his next short, currently in post-production.

In 2026, he was selected for IndieLisboa Lab and the international film laboratory DIP (Documental, Intimidad y Puesta en Escena), allowing him to develop his upcoming projects through innovative working methods and critical thinking.