Ana Ivanova (left) and Ana Brun in The Heiresses
Paraguayan actress Ana Ivanova, star of the international hit The Heiresses / Las herederas, died yesterday, March 17, due to complications from lung cancer at the age of 51. She had been hospitalized for a month.
With a significant career in theater, Ivanova appeared on camera in numerous short films, including Vida reciclada (2013) and Crisis (2017). She made her television debut with the Paraguayan series Santa Cumbia (2014) and gradually built her filmography with movies like El invierno de Gunter (2007), Luna de cigarras (2014), Gritos del Monday (2016), and Truenos (2017).
Her international breakthrough came in 2018 with Marcelo Martinessi's debut feature The Heiresses, where she played the role of Angy. Also starring Ana Brun and Margarita Irún, the film is an immersive and emotionally compelling exploration of privilege and quiet crisis.
The Heiresses premiered in the main competition at the Berlin Film Festival, where it won the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize and the Silver Bear for Best Actress for Ana Brun. The film received over 40 awards at international film festivals and was Paraguay’s submission for the Academy Awards. Ana Ivanova won the Award for Best Actress at the Gramado Film Festival for her work in the film. It had its U.S. theatrical release in January 2019 at Film Forum, earning rave reviews, including a Critic’s Pick from A.O. Scott at The New York Times.
Ivanova ganó en 2018 el premio a mejor actriz en el 46 Festival Internacional de Cine de Gramado, en Brasil, por ‘La Herederas’ y obtuvo otros premios en 2015 por su actuación en el cortometraje ‘Vida reciclada’ y en 2016 por el corto ‘Recoleta’. EFE
Following this success, Ivanova took part in the co-production King Kong en Asunción (2020) by Camilo Cavalcante and appeared in After We Fell (2021) by American director Castille Landon, filmed in Bulgaria. Beyond her acting career, she was an active cultural and grassroots organizer, contributing to numerous projects.
