Eva Nil (25 June 1909 – 15 August 1990), born Eva Comello, was an Egyptian-born Brazilian film actress.

Early life

Eva Comello was born in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

in 1909, the daughter of Ida Tonetti and Pietro Comello, both born in Italy. Her father was a photographer who became a filmmaker in Brazil after they immigrated in Eva's childhood.Leslie Bethell
''A Cultural History of Latin America: Literature, Music, and the Visual Arts in the 19th and 20th Centuries''
(Cambridge University Press 1998): 461.

Career

"Eva Nil" (also seen as Eva Nill), her chosen screen name, refers to her Egyptian birth, on the

Nile River The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest rive ...

. Silent films featuring Eva Nil included ''Valadião, o Cratera'' (1925, "Valadião, the Crater", a short by Comello and his filmmaking partner

Humberto Mauro Humberto Duarte Mauro (30 April 1897 – 5 November 1983) was a Brazilian film director. His best known work is '' Ganga Bruta''. He is often considered the greatest director of early Brazilian cinema. Career Mauro's second feature film ''Thes ...

), ''Na Primera da Vida'' (1925, "The Spring of Life", also by Mauro), ''Senhorita Agora Mesmo'' (1928, "Miss Right Now", with Comello as cinematographer, producer, director, and actor), and ''

Barro Humano Barro Humano is a 1929 Brazilian film directed by Adhemar Gonzaga, starring Gracia Morena, Lelita Rosa, Carlos Modesto and Eva Schnoor in the main roles. Carmen Miranda would have appeared as an extra in a scene.Castro, Ruy ''Carmen: uma Biog ...

'' (1929, by

Adhemar Gonzaga Adhemar Gonzaga (26 January 1901 – 29 January 1978) was a Brazilian actor, screenwriter, film producer, and film director, director. Biography Born into a wealthy family Gonzaga had a passion for cinema from an early age, and first appeared ...

). She was counted among the ''melindrosas'', modern young actresses of 1920s cinema in Brazil. None of her film appearances have survived, though there are some existing stills. In 1978, archival footage of Nil was featured in a documentary about women in film, ''Mulheres de Cinema''.

Personal life

Eva Nil died in 1990, aged 81 years, in

Cataguases Cataguases is a municipality located in the southeastern part of the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. The estimated population in 2020 was 75,540. It is mainly an industrial centre (textile, metallurgy, clothes) with a strong influence of coffe ...

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...

, where she had lived for many years after retiring from film work.Maria M. Delgado, Stephen M. Hart, Randal Johnson, eds.
''A Companion to Latin American Cinema''
(John Wiley & Sons 2017).

References

External links

Eva Nil's listing on IMDbAn image of Eva Nil in the 1920s
from a 2009 event, held in Brazil for her centennial year. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nil, Eva 1909 births 1990 deaths Brazilian film actresses Brazilian silent film actresses Brazilian people of Italian descent Actresses from Cairo Egyptian emigrants Immigrants to Brazil People from Cataguases