Benilde or the Virgin Mother

A young girl, Benilde, so protected by her religious family that she seemingly knows nothing about procreation, insists that her mysterious pregnancy is a miracle; however, her distressed bourgeois family decides that Benilde has lost her mind.

• Manoel de OliveiraScreenplay
• José RégioWriter
• Manoel de OliveiraDirector
• João PaesOriginal Music Composer

• Maria Amélia MattaBenilde
• Jorge RollaEduardo, Benilde's cousin
• Varela SilvaMelo Cantos, Benilde's father
• Glória de MatosEtelvina, Eduardo's mother
• Maria BarrosoGenoveva, the house-keeper
• Augusto de FigueiredoCristóvão, the priest
• Jacinto RamosFabrício, the doctor
• Manoel de OliveiraScreaming Madman (voice)